The European Commission (EC) has approved a €450 million plan proposed by the Italian government to support investments in the integrated production of green hydrogen and renewable electricity in brownfield industrial areas. The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, which was approved in March 2023, contains conditions that the EU competition watchdog has determined the Italian plan complies with.
Through the measure, the Italian government will select the projects that will receive public support in the form of direct grants covering investment costs through an open, competitive bidding procedure. The maximum amount of aid per project is set at €20 million. The Recovery and Resilience Facility provided funding for the project. Except for credit and other financial institutions, it will be available to companies of all sizes.
In November 2022, the EC awarded more than $394 million for 168 climate action ‘green deals’ across Europe. A total investment of more than $584 million would be made under the bloc’s life programme because of the funding, which was approved on November 23, 2022, representing a 27 per cent increase over the budget from the prior year. The programme, according to the EC statement, can help the EU in becoming climate neutral by 2050.
