Industry News
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking Announces further €150 Million for Research and Development Proposals
Posted 26th January 2012
Established in 2008 as a public-private partnership, the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH Joint Undertaking) has announced its fifth call for research and development proposals, worth €150 million. The FCH Joint Undertaking aims to accelerate the development and commercialisation of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in Europe over the next decade. These technologies can make a vital contribution to the decarbonisation of transport and energy systems, increase energy security, and maintain EU competitiveness in the face of competition from the Far East and United States.
Pierre-Etienne Franc, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Joint Undertaking, welcomed the fifth call for proposals noting that, “European industries and SMEs have emerged as highly credible players in developing and demonstrating fuel cells and hydrogen technologies. Applications such as cars, busses, light duty and material handling vehicles are technology-ready. To go the extra mile and start deployment of innovative technologies competing with mature ones, cannot be purely driven by market forces: pooling public resources on a long term basis is crucial to generating leverage for private investment, the main drive of innovation.”
The €150 million funding will be split between five application areas, with almost 70% supporting stationary, transport and infrastructure applications:
• Transportation and refuelling infrastructure (€ 26 million);
• Stationary power generation (€ 27 million);
• Early market (€ 10.25 million);
• Hydrogen production and distribution (€ 8.75 million); and
• Development of life cycle assessment, standards, research, public awareness and training (€ 5.5 million)
Bert De Colvenaer, Executive Director of the FCH Joint Undertaking, adds “The 2012 call will cover real-time demonstration activities to prepare for fuel cell systems market entry with improved technology maturity and cost reduction targets. It will also cover R&D for enhancing systems to meet operational and cost competitiveness requirements or to reduce the time to demonstration and deployment.”
The FCH Joint Undertaking has announced a submission deadline of 24th May 2012, with detailed evaluations occurring in June and the projects selected for contract negotiations expected to be announced in the autumn.
About the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking
The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking was established on 14 October 2008, until 2013, as the first illustrative example of a public-private partnership instrument under the European Strategic Energy Technology Plan (SET-Plan), technology pillar of the EU’s energy and climate policy. Autonomous since 15 November 2010, the FCH JU aims to speed up the development of fuel cell and hydrogen technologies in Europe to enable their commercialisation between 2010 and 2020. Current membership includes the European Commission and 49 companies, from multinationals to SMEs represented by the Industry Grouping (NEW-IG), as well as 61 universities and research institutes, represented by the Research Grouping (N.ERGHY) engaging more than 2000 researchers in the field of fuel cells and hydrogen.
Source: Fuel Cell Works
