BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission on Friday approved a 4-billion-euro ($4.3 billion) German state aid scheme to help industries in their process to de-carbonise their productions.
The German measure is related to the country’s post-COVID recovery plan known as the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
The projects under the scheme will range from the construction of melting tanks for glass production using electricity to the replacement of traditional steel production processes by direct reduction hydrogen-powered plants.
The aid will be in the form of variable annual grants under two-way contracts for difference, so-called ‘Climate Protection Contracts’, with a 15-year duration.
“The measure contributes to achieving Germany’s climate and energy targets, as well as the EU’s strategic objectives of the European Green Deal,” the EU competition enforcer said in a statement.
($1 = 0.9288 euros)
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
