EU R&I programmes contibute significantly to hydrogen technologies development

The European Commission has published a report which presents how the EU Framework Programmes for Research & Innovation have contibuted to the uptake of hydrogen in Europe. Hydrogen has recently emerged as a promising alternative to traditional fossil fuels, and the EU actively supports its development in Europe.

EU R&I programmes allocated more than € 2.9 billion in funding to near 800 projects targeting the entire value-chain of hydrogen since 2007. This is achieved mostly via Joint Undertakings – the institutionalised EU partnerships between the public and private sectors. While a large share of funding focuses on mobility end-use applications, particularly in the aviation domain, projects targeting all parts of the value-chain have been financed, from production to usage. Participants are mainly located in the north-west of Europe, and Germany, France and Italy are key players in hydrogen research. Hydrogen valleys are also blossoming in Europe, with 17 hydrogen valleys funded by the R&I programmes. An increasing participation of the private sector was observed, along with a shift from fundamental research to research focusing on bringing new technologies to the market. Finally, the hydrogen research projects funded by the R&I programmes have produced 54 inventions and 2,379 publications so far, and more results are expected in the future.

The report can be downloaded here:

Contribution of the EU Research & Innovation programmes to the uptake of hydrogen in Europe