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[text/observer network ruan jiaqi]

the eu is taking a series of measures to restrict chinese products through new rules, investigations and potential tariff policies, and now it has extended its black hands to china's hydrogen production electrolyzers.

according to reports from bloomberg and reuters on the 27th, on friday local time, the european commission announced changes to the hydrogen subsidy auction rules for european green hydrogen project subsidies that will be launched this month, adding restrictions on the use of chinese hydrogen electrolyzer products in bidding projects and a so-called “resilience requirement” for parts and components.

the content of the document released by the european commission, describing this new regulation, stated, “the european commission’s analysis shows that the eu’s dependence on chinese electrolyzers is increasing and faces irreversible risks, which may pose a threat to the eu’s supply security. threat. therefore, bidders must prove that the procurement of electrolyzer products assembled, produced or surface treated in china shall not exceed 25%.”

the document also claims that given that china’s production capacity already exceeds 50% of global production, and that china’s hydrogen production is expected to far exceed its domestic 2025 target and foreseeable global demand, “there are reasons to take special measures to this emerging industry.” measure". the rules state that any bidder found not adhering to the guidelines during project implementation will face penalties such as reduction in subsidy or termination of the contract.

the electrolyser is a key equipment that uses electricity to decompose water and generate hydrogen. it accounts for about 50% of the total cost of the hydrogen production system, which directly determines the cost of hydrogen energy production.

in order to provide financial support to the hydrogen energy industry, the eu launched the european hydrogen energy bank in march last year to stimulate and support the production and investment of sustainable hydrogen energy in europe. the plan is expected to invest 3 billion euros to establish a "future hydrogen energy market" in the eu, with the goal of increasing annual green hydrogen production to 10 million tons by 2030 and importing 10 million tons of green hydrogen from non-regional countries every year. under its auction mechanism, the lower the cost of green hydrogen production and the smaller the premium, the easier it will be for a company to become a winning bidder and obtain eu financial subsidies.

according to an earlier report by reuters, in april this year, the european hydrogen energy bank provided 720 million euros in financial subsidies to seven hydrogen energy projects after the first round of auctions. industry sources said at the time that bids for some successful projects indicated they would use cheaper chinese equipment. the european commission did not say whether this was the case.

a european commission document quoted by reuters mentioned at the time that about a quarter of the projects applying for funding planned to purchase electrolyzers from outside the eu, and another quarter planned to use both eu and non-eu-made equipment.

according to reports, with regard to the new round of green hydrogen project subsidies of up to 1.2 billion euros to be launched by the european union in september, some european hydrogen electrolyzer manufacturers are worried about being unable to compete with cheaper chinese companies and hope that the eu will establish a european hydrogen bank add criteria in funding programs that favor local businesses.

in early september, eu climate commissioner wopke hoekstra responded that the european commission was formulating stricter rules to ensure that eu subsidies for hydrogen energy projects benefit european companies.

"i will make sure that the next auction is different from the past. we will set clear standards to build a european electrolyser supply chain." hoekstra said, hyping china's so-called "overcapacity", "although europe has good electrolyzers manufacturing capacity, but china is oversupplying the market at lower prices.”

at that time, he also defended the eu's proposed new subsidy rules, saying that the eu was not trying to cut off ties with china, but was taking action when it believed competition was unfair.

against the backdrop of global carbon reduction, the green hydrogen industry has emerged as a new frontier. benefiting from the explosion of global green hydrogen demand, electrolyzers, as the core equipment in the field of water electrolysis and hydrogen production, are becoming the "fourth" reserve product for china's exports.

in recent years, china's electrolyzer industry has developed rapidly and has formed a mature supply chain system, and production can be fully localized. many leading electrolyser companies, including sunshine hydrogen, perry hydrogen, trina hydrogen, longi hydrogen, mingyang hydrogen, and guofu hydrogen, are actively exploring overseas markets in europe and the middle east.

according to reports, the export price of a set of electrolyzer equipment is around 10 million to 15 million yuan. the price of similar products in europe is more than twice that. the higher cost performance has become the main reason why chinese electrolyzers are popular overseas.

the competitiveness of china's electrolyzers in the international market is not only reflected in shipment volume and price advantages, but also in its technical level and product quality. the technical level of china's alkaline electrolyzers is considered to be ahead of europe and the united states, far exceeding the global average.

as countries around the world have successively formulated "dual carbon" goals, the market will begin to mutate in 2022, and hydrogen production equipment will show explosive growth. in 2022, china's electrolyzer shipments reached 800mw, a year-on-year increase of 128.6%, accounting for 78.4% of global shipments.

according to reports from china energy news and daily economic news, since 2023, nearly 10 domestic electrolyzer manufacturers have cooperated with multinational manufacturers to develop international markets through cooperation in building factories, launching commercial cooperation in electrolyzed water hydrogen production, and establishing overseas companies to accelerate overseas market layout of hydrogen production equipment. many companies have felt the growing trend of electrolyzers going overseas. perry hydrogen energy has achieved continuous doubling of export value - approximately 70 million yuan in 2021, approximately 170 million yuan in 2022, and approximately 300 million yuan in 2023.

at this time, the eu's protectionist stick was aimed at china's electrolyzers, which were about to take off. at the same time, the eu also frequently targeted china's electric vehicles and wind power facilities, seriously affecting china-eu relations and jeopardizing europe's green transformation goals.

on september 10, chinese foreign ministry spokesperson lin jian responded to relevant issues at a regular press conference and pointed out that the eu’s behavior is typical protectionism and politically driven behavior, ignoring objective facts, disregarding wto rules, and going against the trend of history. , harming the eu's green transition process and global efforts to combat climate change. if the european commission insists on having its own way, china will take necessary measures to resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of chinese companies and industries.

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