German-Dutch funding call invites proposals for green hydrogen research projects

Germany and the Netherlands are seeking proposals for research projects in the field of electrochemical materials and processes that should accelerate the development of innovative technologies for green hydrogen and green chemistry.

A funding call has been launched by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection (BMWK) together with the Dutch Research Council.

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The funding call is dubbed "Electrochemical Materials and Processes for Green Hydrogen and Green Chemistry" (ECCM) and will award EUR 10 million (USD 9.91m) in grants with the German and Dutch sides each providing half of the funding.

The projects invited to compete for sponsorship must be in the areas of hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, P-to-X technologies and downstream processes for the production of energy carriers and green chemicals, electro-synthesis and electrochemical conversion, material and process engineering for the aforementioned processes, design and manufacturing processes for technologies for green hydrogen as well as system design and system integration.

The projects should also involve partners along the entire innovation chain from research to industry to end users.

Only projects that are considered highly promising by the German and Dutch sides will be eligible to receive financing.

Both Germany and the Netherlands consider green hydrogen key to reaching climate neutrality by 2045 and 2050, respectively, as it has the potential to decarbonise sectors that have a serious negative impact on the climate but cannot be easily electrified.

Together, Germany and the Netherlands form a strong industrial cluster and seek to benefit from this strength to jointly develop innovative technologies to accelerate the ramp-up of a green hydrogen economy in both partner countries, said Germany's education and research minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger.

(EUR 1 = USD 0.991)