Funding of natural gas-powered fuel cells continues for the generation of heat and electricity in the household energy sector. Following an evaluation by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW Group), 729 funding applications for the KfW “fuel cell grant” 433 programme have been approved in the first quarter of 2018.
The federal government has been subsidising installations in private households since 2016. The successful funding programme was extended to companies and municipal authorities in 2017. A total of 2,630 systems have been subsidised thus far.
As the most efficient form of cogeneration, a fuel cell emits almost 60 per cent less CO2 compared to an old oil burner. The heat market is responsible for around 40 per cent of German CO2 emissions, with a third of the heating systems in German basements being outdated. Systems with an electrical output range of between 0.25 and 5 kW are funded. The grant consists of both a fixed amount of 5,700 euros as well as an output-related amount. For large fuel cell appliances with an output of 5 kW, grants of up to 28,200 euros are potentially available.
The KfW funding programme was prepared through field tests in “Callux”, a project within the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP).
More information on funding conditions and on application procedures can be found under www.kfw.de/433.