The Scottish government has announced that businesses will be able to bid for a share of up to £7 million funding to kick start green hydrogen projects across Scotland.
The funding is available to hydrogen projects with a production capacity of 5-400MW, and will help cover development stage costs. Support will also be available for work that supports the hydrogen supply chain and storage solutions.
According to acting minister for climate action, Alasdair Allan, Scotland’s capacity for renewable energy generation, crucial to the process of making green hydrogen, means the industry will play a key role in growing the nation’s economy. This is perhaps of particular note in the wake of Grangemouth oil refinery’s closure.
Allan added: “[The funding] demonstrates that Scotland is well positioned to lead the way in developing renewable energy in a way that delivers economic benefits and it also shows our commitment to help grow the hydrogen sector, one of the five priority areas set out in our new Green Industrial Strategy.”
Organisations have until the end of this month to apply for a maximum of £2 million in match-funding from the scheme. It has been co-developed with Scottish Enterprise, which will facilitate and manage the fund.
Scottish Enterprise director of energy transition, Suzanne Sosna, said: “Renewable energy, including green hydrogen, has the potential to transform Scotland’s economy and Scottish Enterprise is fully committed to helping hydrogen production, storage and offtake businesses as part of that.”
Government funding for green hydrogen development
This latest funding complements the £10 million Hydrogen Innovation Scheme (HIS), which has awarded almost £7 million to 31 projects across Scotland since 2023. The Scottish government published a draft Hydrogen Action Plan in November 2021, committing up to £100 million in hydrogen funding through its Emerging Energy Technologies Fund (EETF), and the HIS was the first tranche of the EETF to be launched, in June 2022.
With the UK currently targeting 10GW of hydrogen production, with 5GW specifically green hydrogen, by 2030, many of the proposed hubs are located in Scotland. In July, Aberdeen City Council and BP, via their joint venture BP Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy, reached a final investment decision for a green hydrogen hub in Aberdeen.
The project received support from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as part of £21 million in funding the government allocated across seven green hydrogen projects.
