Austria has unveiled a €400 million investment in renewable hydrogen production.

The investment was announced by Austria’s climate ministry (BMK) and finance ministry in efforts to bolster the country’s strategic climate and green energy objectives and boost its global industrial competitiveness.

The financing would be distributed via a competitive auction on the European Hydrogen Bank’s (EHB) auction-as-a-service program. This allows member states to “top up” their current EU-level auctions with their own funds for domestic projects.

According to Austria’s BMK and finance ministry, the auction will be held in spring this year, when the next EHB funding rounds of $2.2 billion is set to take place.

Furthermore, Austria is aiming to have 1GW (gigawatt) of renewable hydrogen production by the end of the decade, as part of its national hydrogen strategy. The country is also seeking to decarbonise as much as 80% of its carbon intensive H2 usage with equally clean sources by 2030.

The principal objective is to significantly reduce the use of carbon-intensive hydrogen in heavy industries, shipping and aviation. 

The country’s climate minister Leonore Gewessler said of the latest investment: “Climate-neutral hydrogen plays an important role in our climate and energy goals.

“To ensure that Austria remains competitive in those areas that need hydrogen for their processes or that are difficult to electrify — such as energy-intensive industry and shipping and air traffic — it is important to invest with foresight now,” Gewessler went on to say.

Furthermore, Austria will likely become the second EU member state to offer renewable hydrogen production subsidies for homegrown projects via the bloc’s European Hydrogen Bank, placing the nation at the helm of the green hydrogen sector.