Horizon Europe for Hydrogen
Horizon Europe is the main EU funding program for research and innovation. It funds a broad spectrum of research activities, including solutions to combat climate change (including hydrogen), through pillars II and III, with 35% of its global budget for the period 2021-2027. It provides support for researchers and innovators to drive systemic change to ensure a green, healthy and resilient EU.
How it works
It aims at supporting the creation and better diffusion of excellent knowledge and technologies, to create jobs, boost economic growth and promote industrial competitiveness, as well as optimise investment impact within a strengthened European Research Area.
The objective is to transform Europe into a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Horizon Europe consists of 3 Pillars, dedicated to:
Pillars II and III are of specific interest for deployment of low carbon industry applications and breakthrough technologies, including hydrogen.
The objective is to transform Europe into a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Horizon Europe consists of 3 Pillars, dedicated to:
- excellent science (Pillar I)
- global challenges and European industrial competitiveness (Pillar II)
- Innovative Europe (Pillar III)
Pillars II and III are of specific interest for deployment of low carbon industry applications and breakthrough technologies, including hydrogen.
- PILLAR II: €53.5 billion - A significant part will be implemented through European partnerships that are set up based on memoranda of understanding or contractual arrangements between the Commission and the partners. They have their separate work programmes, to bring forward the transition towards circular and low carbon industry in applied research clusters. Cluster 4 ‘Digital, Industry & Space’ and Cluster 5 ‘Climate, Energy & Mobility’ are of specific interest for advanced manufacturing and breakthrough technologies for decarbonisation.
- PILLAR III: €10 billion - In includes the activities coordinated by the European Innovation Council (EIC) . It aims to foster all forms of innovation, including non-technological innovation, by facilitating technological development, demonstration and knowledge transfer, and strengthen deployment of innovative solutions. It supports individual small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with 70% of the budget earmarked for SMEs, in particular start-ups and spinout companies that develop and scale up game-changing innovations. Breakthrough and market-creating innovation are financed through grants followed by equity via two instruments – the Pathfinder for Advanced Research (from early tech to proof of concept) and the Accelerator (from early commercial phase to market scale up). The EIC accelerator provides substantial financial support with grant funding of up to €2.5 million for innovation development costs, investments (direct equity investments) of up to €15 million managed by the EIC Fund for scale-up and other relevant costs.
Projects must generally involve a research & innovation element, as this is the objective of Horizon Europe. Supported projects tackle societal challenges with an emphasis on EU industrial leadership, recovery, and the green deal, including hydrogen technologies.
The type of actions supported by Horizon Europe include networking and coordination, research, innovation, pilot actions, market deployment actions (first deployment, as commercial activities are not supported), training and mobility, and dissemination and exploitation of results.
Projects must generally involve a research & innovation element, as this is the objective of Horizon Europe. Supported projects tackle societal challenges with an emphasis on EU industrial leadership, recovery, and the green deal, including hydrogen technologies.
The type of actions supported by Horizon Europe include networking and coordination, research, innovation, pilot actions, market deployment actions (first deployment, as commercial activities are not supported), training and mobility, and dissemination and exploitation of results.
Hydrogen actions funded
- research and innovation projects (including applied research, technology development and integration, testing, demonstration and validation of a small-scale prototype in a laboratory or simulated environment)
- innovation actions (including prototyping, testing, demonstrating, piloting, large-scale product validation and market replication)
- innovation and market deployment (activities necessary to deploy an innovation on the market, including the scaling-up of companies)
- testing and demonstration of hydrogen technologies in industrial environments through Open Innovation Test Beds (OITB)
The cluster ‘Climate, energy and mobility’ of Pillar II is of particular relevance for hydrogen activities, along with its dedicated Clean Hydrogen Partnership, and the European Innovation Council support for the deployment of innovative solutions in Pillar III. Other clusters, public and private partnerships (PPPs) and missions in Pillar II may provide additional opportunities for applied research activities.
Pillar II - global challenges and European industrial competitiveness: it covers specifically the research and innovation partnerships with industry, which are objective-driven partnerships between the European Commission, EU countries, industry and other relevant stakeholders.
The applications of hydrogen are numerous and the partnerships which deal with such applications of hydrogen are listed below
The applications of hydrogen are numerous and the partnerships which deal with such applications of hydrogen are listed below
1. "The Clean Hydrogen Partnership"
This institutional public private partnership aims to roll out hydrogen technologies at scale, building on the achievements of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (funded by Horizon 2020). It aims to accelerate development and deployment of European clean hydrogen technologies, contributing to a sustainable, decarbonised and fully integrated energy system. It will focus on production, distribution and storage of clean hydrogen to supply hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heavy industries and heavy-duty transport applications. See the Projects repository.
Some objectives by 2030 are: produce clean hydrogen at ~€1.5-3/kg, with efficiency improvement and lowering CAPEX costs. This also assumes the availability of renewable electricity at favourable prices, as well as allowing penetration into mass markets, and reducing distribution costs to less than €1/kg of hydrogen at scale. €1 billion has been proposed as budget under the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
The design, development and diffusion across Europe of "hydrogen valleys" is a flagship priority of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. Further initiatives will support the development of networks of hydrogen valleys building on the multisector use of green hydrogen.
It will notably include regions not yet hydrogen friendly as targets, to allow for full EU coverage, with a view to further link these nodes through green corridors, whether by pipes, rail, waterways, maritime or road, provided that the transport will also be green. Specific attention will cover linking R&I outcomes to preparation for deployment, including looking at regulatory frame and involvement of local, regional and national authorities. It supports the hydrogen strategy and will support increasing the autonomy and resilience of the energy system in its transition towards clean energy.
Clean Hydrogen Partnership SRIA Scientific priorities matched by the Annual Work Programme 2022: renewable hydrogen production (€77 million R&I investment, main focus on electrolysers and €25 million for Hydrogen Valleys) = 33.5% of total budget; hydrogen storage and distribution (€49 million R&I investment) = 16.3% of total budget
Hydrogen end uses:
Planned funding initiatives for 2023 across Horizon Europe and Clean Hydrogen Partnership:
- services for testing innovative hydrogen production technology leading to technology upscaling, reducing cost, accelerating . time to the market, and reducing investment risk
- creation of an industrial ecosystem of green hydrogen production technology providers
Mandatory data reporting clause in all cluster 5 projects with a link to hydrogen or to the Clean Hydrogen Observatory (no budget involved).
Climate impact of the hydrogen economy (€10 million).
No hydrogen topics but where hydrogen is one of the options for R&I activities
- possibly using hydrogen as an end-product (€76 million)
- possibly using hydrogen from renewable energy as an intermediary in the process of making other renewable fuels: (€65 million)
This institutional public private partnership aims to roll out hydrogen technologies at scale, building on the achievements of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (funded by Horizon 2020). It aims to accelerate development and deployment of European clean hydrogen technologies, contributing to a sustainable, decarbonised and fully integrated energy system. It will focus on production, distribution and storage of clean hydrogen to supply hard-to-decarbonise sectors such as heavy industries and heavy-duty transport applications. See the Projects repository.
Some objectives by 2030 are: produce clean hydrogen at ~€1.5-3/kg, with efficiency improvement and lowering CAPEX costs. This also assumes the availability of renewable electricity at favourable prices, as well as allowing penetration into mass markets, and reducing distribution costs to less than €1/kg of hydrogen at scale. €1 billion has been proposed as budget under the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
The design, development and diffusion across Europe of "hydrogen valleys" is a flagship priority of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. Further initiatives will support the development of networks of hydrogen valleys building on the multisector use of green hydrogen.
It will notably include regions not yet hydrogen friendly as targets, to allow for full EU coverage, with a view to further link these nodes through green corridors, whether by pipes, rail, waterways, maritime or road, provided that the transport will also be green. Specific attention will cover linking R&I outcomes to preparation for deployment, including looking at regulatory frame and involvement of local, regional and national authorities. It supports the hydrogen strategy and will support increasing the autonomy and resilience of the energy system in its transition towards clean energy.
Clean Hydrogen Partnership SRIA Scientific priorities matched by the Annual Work Programme 2022: renewable hydrogen production (€77 million R&I investment, main focus on electrolysers and €25 million for Hydrogen Valleys) = 33.5% of total budget; hydrogen storage and distribution (€49 million R&I investment) = 16.3% of total budget
Hydrogen end uses:
- transport applications (€98 million) = 32.6% of total budget – Aviation and Maritime; clean heat and power €24.5 million = 8.1% of total budget
- Cross-cutting activities including Hydrogen Valleys (€52 million) = 17% of total budget; €300,000 call published 1 March with two cut off deadlines: 31 May and 20 September 2022.
Planned funding initiatives for 2023 across Horizon Europe and Clean Hydrogen Partnership:
- Clean Hydrogen Partnership 2023 budget about €200 million (€150 million + €50 million frontloading)
- Open Innovation Test Bed (OITB) on Hydrogen Production Technologies (€10 million)
- services for testing innovative hydrogen production technology leading to technology upscaling, reducing cost, accelerating . time to the market, and reducing investment risk
- creation of an industrial ecosystem of green hydrogen production technology providers
Mandatory data reporting clause in all cluster 5 projects with a link to hydrogen or to the Clean Hydrogen Observatory (no budget involved).
Climate impact of the hydrogen economy (€10 million).
No hydrogen topics but where hydrogen is one of the options for R&I activities
- possibly using hydrogen as an end-product (€76 million)
- possibly using hydrogen from renewable energy as an intermediary in the process of making other renewable fuels: (€65 million)
2. The European Partnership for Clean Aviation:
The institutional partnership aims to put aviation en route to climate neutrality by accelerating the development, integration, and validation of mainly disruptive research and innovation solutions, for deployment as soon as possible. It will also help develop the next generation of ultra-efficient low-carbon aircraft, with novel power sources, engines, and systems, which will emerge from the research and demonstration phase at a high technology readiness level €735 million in calls launched on 23 March 2022 with deadline of 23 June 2022.
The institutional partnership aims to put aviation en route to climate neutrality by accelerating the development, integration, and validation of mainly disruptive research and innovation solutions, for deployment as soon as possible. It will also help develop the next generation of ultra-efficient low-carbon aircraft, with novel power sources, engines, and systems, which will emerge from the research and demonstration phase at a high technology readiness level €735 million in calls launched on 23 March 2022 with deadline of 23 June 2022.
