Wedoany.com Report-Nov 19, HydrogenPro has said its pressurised alkaline electrolysers will comply with made-in-Europe criteria for the next European Hydrogen Bank (EHB) round, despite holding manufacturing capacity in Tianjin, China.
The European Commission’s rules mean that just 25% of electrolyser stacks used in projects securing EHB funding, including cell unit production, stack assembly, and surface treatment, can be sourced from China.
Having previously warned that the criteria was unclear, HydrogenPro said the rules would drive up green hydrogen project costs and further impede project development.
In a statement released on November 15, the company said, it had observed uncertainty and misunderstandings of the “complex supply chain involved in the production of electrolysers.”
Having reviewed a letter by the Commission, the statement continued, “HydrogenPro fully complies with the EHB’s funding requirements for our European projects. Any necessary adjustments to our supply chain will be minimal.”
CEO, Jarle Dragvik, added, “We have thoroughly analysed our supply chain based on the EU regulations, which includes our electrode production in Denmark and assembly at our collaboration and EPC partner ANDRITZ AG’s site in Germany, and we are confident we will comply with all regulations.”
Introduced to ensure domestic European manufacturers can compete against far cheaper Chinese electrolysers, HydrogenPro, which boasts 500MW of production capacity in the People’s Republic, was outnumbered by those calling for criteria.
The likes of Nel, Siemens, thyssenkrupp nucera and more putting their names to a letter sent to the European Commission warning of the “acute threat” posed by Chinese OEMs, the EU’s climate chief, Wopke Hoekstra, said that China was oversupplying electrolysers at “ever-lower costs.”