BERLIN (Reuters) -German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche said on Friday that a round of tenders for new carbon contracts for difference (CFDs) worth 6 billion euros ($7.01 billion) are to begin next week.
Carbon CFDs, also known as climate protection agreements, grant subsidies to companies for initially expensive alternative fuels, which they apply for through tenders.
The companies repay the subsidies to the state once operating costs fall as the alternative technology becomes more efficient.
Speaking in parliament, Reiche rejected suggestions that the funding could be halved, saying that corresponding reports were about project management costs, not the funds for the contracts themselves.
($1 = 0.8559 euros)
(Reporting by Holger Hansen, Writing by Friederike Heine, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Miranda Murray)
