Research, development and innovation measures within the scope of the NIP can be submitted at any time. However, please note the deadlines for the prioritisation of outlines, which are 30 September and 31 March of each year.
With the beginnings of the market uptake of fuel cell products and the steady development of a hydrogen infrastructure for transport, the NIP has been realigned with the aim of establishing hydrogen and fuel cell technology competitively in the transport sector and the energy market by 2026. In 2016, under the leadership of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV), the German government drew up an interministerial government programme for the continuation of the NIP until 2026, in which the funding activities of the federal government and the joint approach were firmly anchored.
The funding measures regarded as necessary by the BMDV are listed in the document “Continuation of the NIP 2016 to 2026, measures of the BMDV as a contribution to the development of sustainable mobility” (“Fortsetzung des NIP 2016 bis 2026, Maßnahmen des BMDV als Beitrag zur Entwicklung nachhaltiger Mobilität”). These include measures for application-related market activation and continuity of R&D&I funding with the aim of further reducing costs. The latter is the focus of the current funding guideline.