A €184.5 million call for renewable hydrogen projects

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership has launched a new call for projects, with a budget of €184.5 million, aimed at driving the development of cutting-edge technologies in the renewable hydrogen sector. This initiative is part of the Horizon Europe programme and covers the entire value chain of renewable hydrogen: from production, storage, and distribution to its end-use applications, as well as transversal activities. In particular, the development of hydrogen valleys, which receive the largest share of funding, is one of the programme’s key priorities. Those interested in submitting proposals have until 23 April 2025 to send their applications.

“This call represents a key opportunity for European hydrogen stakeholders. Its goal is to accelerate the market deployment of technologies that, while promising, still need support to become competitive,” explains Paul Babillot, consultant at Zabala Innovation and expert in the Clean Hydrogen Partnership calls.

Clean Hydrogen Partnership 2025 covers 19 topics, distributed across several strategic areas:

• Hydrogen valleys, with a budget of €80 million
• Renewable hydrogen production, €40 million
• Transport, €17 million
• Hydrogen storage and distribution, €16 million
• Transversal topics, €6.5 million
• Heating and power generation, €5 million

Hydrogen valleys, which concentrate 44% of the total budget, are the programme’s major focus. “The goal is to structure regional ecosystems capable of integrating the entire value chain: from production to end-use, including storage and distribution,” details Babillot.

This strategy aligns with the RePowerEU plan, which aims to double the number of Hydrogen Valleys in Europe by 2025. To this end, the European Commission has allocated an additional €80 million to these projects. “There is a clear drive to create structured local initiatives, with the goal of making them replicable models at the European level,” emphasises Babillot.

Clean Hydrogen Partnership call: structured and diversified financial support

The budget is distributed across three main categories of funding:

• 12 Research and Innovation Actions (RIA): projects that include fundamental or applied research, technological development, and experimental testing, with 100% funding for all types of entities.
• 6 Innovation Actions (IA): projects focused on the development and demonstration of new technologies with high industrial potential, with 70% funding for profit-making entities and 100% funding for non-profit entities.
• 1 Coordination and Support Action (CSA): aimed at fostering synergies among sector stakeholders, with 100% funding for all types of entities.

“These funds cover the entire innovation cycle, from applied research to industrial demonstrators. This allows for supporting businesses and research centres at different stages of maturity,” highlights Babillot.

A notable point is that €20 million of the budget comes from the United Kingdom. Despite Brexit, these UK funds continue to be allocated to this call, primarily for projects that are on the reserve list, in line with the strategic priorities set by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership’s Board of Directors.

Administrative simplification with lump sum grants

As in the 2024 edition, the Clean Hydrogen Partnership 2025 call relies on the lump sum mechanism – a funding model where the grant is paid in predefined fixed amounts, aimed at reducing administrative burden and linking payments to results and completion of the tasks. “This model avoids complex administrative processes and ensures greater transparency regarding the funds allocated to beneficiaries,” explains Babillot.

Furthermore, the call places significant emphasis on synergies with other European and national initiatives, encouraging collaboration between Member States and regions.

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership remains committed to climate neutrality, supporting projects that will contribute to the energy and climate goals of 2030 and 2050. This initiative continues the work of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertakings (FCH JU and FCH 2 JU), funded under the Seventh Framework Programme and Horizon 2020.

“This call is a powerful lever for accelerating the transition. Since the launch of the programme, we have gained significant experience, demonstrated by our support for four projects, including Achieve, where Zabala Innovation is part of the consortium and coordinates the communication and dissemination activities,” highlights Babillot. He concludes: “Our experience places us in a privileged position to advise our clients, both in the preparation of their applications and in the management of funded projects.”