It is unique that two countries are collaborating in this way, marking an important first step in European cooperation for the import of sustainable hydrogen. Sustainable hydrogen will play a significant role in the energy transition. In addition to domestic production of sustainable hydrogen in the Netherlands, imports will also be necessary. With this scheme, Germany and the Netherlands aim to initiate this import.

Producers of sustainable hydrogen worldwide can apply for the tender. Companies in the Netherlands and Germany will then purchase the imported renewable hydrogen for their business processes. This makes the import easier and ensures that producers of sustainable hydrogen have certainty.

H2Global is a public-private partnership foundation in which, alongside the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, a large number of companies from the energy sector participate. Germany initiated this in 2021 because the import of hydrogen is not yet available at commercially attractive prices. The Netherlands considers H2Global a good implementation of the Dutch import policy for renewable hydrogen due to the importance of imports for the security of supply in the energy and raw materials system.

The Netherlands and Germany are each making €300 million available for the joint tender. The German organization Hintco will carry out the tender.