Funding for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells

In addition to research and development, the NIP focuses on market activation in the form of investment cost funding for the procurement of vehicles and infrastructure. The funding of projects for market activation (as a preliminary stage to market ramp-up) applies to products that have achieved technical market maturity but are not yet competitive on the market. The lack of competitiveness is due on the one hand to the still high production costs and on the other hand to the lack of infrastructure for fuel supply and maintenance for many products. The focus of the funding is therefore not on individual private customers, but on commercial applications with corresponding quantities.

“HyLand – Hydrogen Regions in Germany” is a competition launched in 2019 by the Federal Ministry of Transport (BMV), which is already in its second round. HyLand motivates stakeholders in all regions of Germany to initiate, plan and implement concepts with a hydrogen focus. The aim of the competition is to identify and promote the most innovative and promising regional concepts. From over 200 concept submissions from all over Germany, concepts in three categories with different objectives and funding priorities were selected in the first round of HyLand (HyLand I). Within the framework of HyLand II, in September 2021

30 additional municipalities and regions were recognized as HyStarters or HyExperts. As part of the HyLand network, the regions are supported and accompanied with the appropriate funding instruments and networks in the creation of regionally integrated concepts for the introduction of hydrogen and fuel cell technology in transport.

To the HyLand website

With the help of funded innovation clusters and industry networks, it is possible to concentrate and link companies, institutions and other organizational units within an economic sector. Exchanging experiences and pooling knowledge and information creates synergy. That is why a very essential part of our work is networking. Future-oriented technologies and the necessary smart measures can only be developed and implemented in good cooperation and a trusting exchange of know-how. Suitable and well-functioning networks are the prerequisite for our work in program implementation and technology development. We build and maintain networks in order to efficiently implement funding measures, in particular through short routes to target groups, and to jointly design funding frameworks and develop technology strategies with strategically relevant stakeholders, including internationally.

The harmonization of regulations, codes and standards (RCS) at national and international level represents one of the key challenges in the market launch of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. In addition to the definition of safety standards for handling hydrogen, the focus here is on the standardization of product requirements, particularly against the background of cost and resource efficiency. The essential premise here is to ensure that the handling of hydrogen and fuel cell technology is simple, efficient and safe for end customers. The establishment of standardized and practically applicable norms and standards thus simplifies the market entry of new technologies and enables international trade. Through proactive research work, project consortia make an important contribution to the content of international standards and strengthen Germany’s position in the relevant standardization bodies. It should be emphasized that regulations, ordinances and standards relating to hydrogen technologies have a fundamental influence on the innovative strength and economic power of an industrialized nation.

In order to grasp the complicated context of the direct and indirect – and above all not always obvious – relationships between the RCS, an intensive networking of experts and cross-sectoral cooperation is required. The most important areas of action identified here include the revision and further development of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID), the development of refueling protocols for heavy-duty vehicles and applications from the maritime sector and aviation. With regard to the development of hydrogen and fuel cell standards, the international bodies “Hydrogen Technologies” (ISO/TC 197), “Hydrogen in Energy Systems” (CEN-CENELEC/JTC 6) and “Specific Hydrogen Technologies Applications” (CEN/TC 268 WG 5) are of particular importance. The coordination of the German experts in these bodies is carried out via the DIN working committee “Hydrogen Technologies” (NA 032-03-06 AA), which has been headed by NOW GmbH since October 2019, and the DIN working committee “Fuel Properties”, which was newly founded in 2021.

In these working committees, which are made up of representatives from research and development, science and industry, norms and standards relating to hydrogen technology are developed and/or coordinated.

To the RCS website