EU opens new funding call for hydrogen research and innovation — but 40% less cash on table from last year
New call for proposals offers €113.5m compared to last year’s €195m
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However, this is more than 40% lower than the €195m offered in last year’s call, and will support six fewer projects than in 2023.
Research Theme
Number of available projects (2024)
Number of available projects (2023)
Budget (2024)
Budget (2023)
Renewable hydrogen production
5
7
€25m
€49m
Hydrogen storage and distribution
5
5
€27m
€36m
Transport
4
3
€19m
€25.5m
Heat and power
2
4
€9m
€19m
“Cross-cutting”, ie multiple applications
2
3
€4.5m
€7.5m
Hydrogen Valleys
2
2
€29m*
€38m*
Strategic research challenges
0
2
N/A
€20m
Source: Clean Hydrogen Partnership
While the CHP offers €29m specifically for so-called Hydrogen Valleys — ie, hubs capable of producing at least 5,000 tonnes a year — it notes that as was the case last year, the European Commission could top this up from a €200m funding commitment, with up to €60m available in 2024 to ensure that two hubs are funded.
The CHP has also decided to issue lump-sum grants, rather than the previous mechanism based on reimbursement of costs over time. However, these will not be available upfront, but will be given out based on the completion of work packages.
The call in 2023 was massively oversubscribed with a total of 132 applications for 26 possible projects. While a flash evaluation whittled this down to 73 projects, these still requested a combined €382m.
However, while the evaluation results at the end of July last year suggested the first grants would be agreed in December, there have not been any further updates on whether these have been signed.