IPCEI Hydrogen Important Projects of Common European Interest
IPCEI is a transnational major project of common European interest that makes an influential contribution to the growth, employment and competitiveness of European industry and business on specific topics of importance through public funding. Low-carbon hydrogen has been recognized as one of these important topics to achieve the climate targets and has therefore been identified as the main topic of an IPCEI.
IPCEI stands for “Important Projects of Common European Interest” and offers funding opportunities for the implementation of particularly important projects whose challenges can only be overcome through Europe-wide cooperation.
Hydrogen is considered a versatile energy carrier for the long-term success of the energy transition and for climate protection. Climate-friendly hydrogen production enables a significant reduction in CO2 emissions, particularly in industry and transportation, and supports so-called sector coupling by linking the three areas of the energy sector: electricity, heat supply, and mobility. Furthermore, hydrogen can serve as a flexible means of storing electrical energy and balancing fluctuations in the supply of renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass).
Following the announcement of the two funding frameworks IPCEI Microelectronics and IPCEI Batteries, the IPCEI Hydrogen initiative was launched on December 17, 2020. Over 400 projects from 18 EU countries were registered. Of these, over 60 are from Germany, and 10 of those are from Hamburg and the surrounding area. The hydrogen projects were categorized by main themes, and after some adjustments, four so-called waves were defined: Hy2Tech, Hy2Use, Hy2Infra, and Hy2Move. The themes cover the entire hydrogen value chain and are illustrated in the figure alongside other key metrics reflecting the final status of the EU approval phase.
The so-called notification procedure was initiated by DG COMP and ran in staggered phases for the four waves. Hy2Tech and Hy2Use were the first to be approved in the summer/fall of 2022, followed by Hy2Infra in the winter and Hy2Move in the spring of 2024. Following approval at the EU level, individual approvals were granted at the member state level, allowing the projects to commence.
hysolutions has taken on several strategic roles within the Hydrogen IPCEI. At the local level, our colleagues brought together Hamburg-based corporate stakeholders with their various projects for the application and, together with a partner, coordinated communication with Hamburg’s state funding authorities (primarily environmental and economic agencies) during the notification process. At the international level, hysolutions supported the industry coordination group of two other companies, served as an interface between the Federal Ministry of Transport (Germany is the coordinating Member State) and all members of the Hy2Move wave, and represented the Hy2Move wave in communications with the European Commission. hysolutions supported the notification process from the Hy2Move wave through to approval and the establishment of the internal operational coordination bodies.
