ELECTRIC VEHICLE BATTERY PRODUCTION PLANT
The European Commission approved a €902 million German state aid measure to support the construction of a plant for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. The beneficiary has set itself the goal of building the world's most environmentally friendly battery, which produces significantly less CO2 emissions than other companies when measured on produced level including recycling at the end of life. The aid has an incentive effect, as without the aid the plant would have been established outside the EEA. Further Information can be found here.
INVESTMENT IN GREEN INDUSTRIES
The European Commission approved a €2.9 billion French scheme for supporting investment in green industries. Under this measure, the aid will take the form of a tax credit. The measure will be open to companies which plan projects to invest in the production of solar panels, batteries, wind turbines and heat pumps, as well as key components for producing this equipment and critical materials required for their production. The aim is to support measures in sectors which are crucial for accelerating the green transition and reducing fossil fuel dependencies. Further information can be found here.
USE OF HYDROGEN IN INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES
The European Commission approved a €550 million Italian scheme to support investment in the use of hydrogen in industrial processes. Aid will be in the form of direct grants, funded through resources allocated to the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan. It will be open to companies relying on the use of fossil fuels as energy source or feedstock for their production processes in industrial sectors. Eligible projects must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from production processes by at least 40%, or reduce energy consumption by at least 20%. Further information can be found here.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
