Hydrogen territories

Topic description

Specific Challenge:

Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are often described as very promising solutions that will help to reshape a new society model as it would guaranty secure, clean and efficient energy solutions while also offering smart, green and integrated transport solutions. However, transport and energy are often treated separately within the FCH JU funding framework programme, thereby reducing the opportunities to demonstrate pioneer hydrogen economy models at territories levels.

Therefore, this topic aims to support territories where there is a strong political commitment to deploy ambitious and innovative hydrogen-integrated transport and energy demonstration projects in European Territories.

This particular “Hydrogen territories” topic is focused on the deployment of hydrogen technologies in European isolated territories in order to prove the viability and feasibility of hydrogen economy concept in off-grid areas.

To develop and deploy replicable, balanced and integrated fuel cell and hydrogen solutions in both energy and transport fields through strong partnerships between municipalities, industries and academia in European isolated territories disconnected to the main or national electrical grid.

These solutions will demonstrate an integrated hydrogen economy concept focused on small off-grid areas. The hydrogen territory proposals should primarily target transport and energy replicable demonstration applications such as vehicle fleets powered by hydrogen for public and/or private transport, including logistics and/or freight-distribution, MW capacity production of green hydrogen, hydrogen storage for balancing the grid and supply to a hydrogen refuelling station as well as large stationary fuel cell systems for distributed generation and other relevant commercial or industrial applications.

The proposals should address the following main areas:

• Near/fully autonomous hydrogen buildings/quarters/districts: through the integration of hydrogen energy storage chain coupled with renewable energy sources and including heat valorisation, backup power solution, and when applicable, supply to a vehicle hydrogen refuelling station (retail, public transport, or fleets)
• Zero emission mobility: through the integration of hydrogen refuelling infrastructures and provision of vehicle fleets powered by hydrogen for public and/or private transport, including logistics and/or freight-distribution. The project shall focus on hydrogen mobility applications such as public transport buses, passenger vehicles, taxi fleets, boats but also scooters or bikes to ensure a greater public visibility and awareness. The vehicles included must be designed in a way that allows producing them in large series

To be eligible, the proposals should prove a strong commitment from local authorities that reveals a long-term hydrogen-integrated urban plan strategy.

Isolated hydrogen territories should seek to create partnerships between industries, academics and cities, demonstrate replicability of the solutions and ensure funding from various sources.

Therefore each project should:

• Be realised in at least one European isolated territory
• Include industry, city planning authorities, research community, local Small and Medium Size Companies (SMEs)
• In addition the project should co-involve at least one follower territory i.e. an off-grid territory willing to contribute to the process though the replication of solutions at the end of the project and having access to the know-how and results of the project and a privileged contact with the project's partners. The involvement of the follower territory should be relevant (e.g. participating in definition of user requirements and methodology of transferability of solutions, data collection etc.). The follower territory should commit to replicate, improve and follow up integration of hydrogen energy vector solutions in the urban planning. The follower(s) territory(ies) will not be eligible for FCH 2 JU funding to deploy integrated hydrogen and fuel cell solutions in the frame of the project proposals. At least one follower territory should come from a Member State or Associated Country
• Ensure that all proposed activities will be integrated in an ambitious urban plan. The urban plan shall integrate buildings planning, energy networks, and transport/mobility planning; additional issues may be addressed as well if relevant for the territory. These plans shall be submitted with the proposal as a supporting document(s)
• In order to ensure the success of the project, the funding for some parts of the programme or initiative in which the isolated territory project is embedded should be secured from other sources, preferably private ones, but also other EU funding sources, national or regional funding
• Projects should develop and reinforce business plans during the project and Life Cycle Analysis that will be replicable and validated in other territories after the project
• Consortia must have a clearly defined structure with roles and responsibilities properly spelled out for all involved entities

Proposals must also commit to scientific and technical requirements:

• Create a “Hydrogen Territory Platform” to share smart hydrogen solution proposals, best practices, project ideas, collect data from operating systems, measurement and disclosure methodology, in order to facilitate a common footprint calculation methodology and other metrics (especially for energy saving; CO₂ reductions, financial savings, number of jobs created, environmental impact etc.)
• The performance monitoring should last for a period of long-term commitment such as 5 years. Consortia should develop an integrated and common protocol for monitoring energy, infrastructure, mobility and governance practices in the hydrogen territories, enabling documentation of improved performance over short and long term periods. The monitoring protocol should be robust and viable also after the end of the project, supporting and increasing municipal capacity over time

Projects should be co-funded by national, regional or private sources in order to demonstrate a strong commitment towards the 2020 European Energy Policy. This should be explained in the budget justification and supported with a Letter of Intent.

The proposals are expected to have the following impacts:

• deploy and demonstrate wide-scale, innovative replicable and integrated hydrogen energy solutions in both energy and transport
• increase the energy efficiency of isolated territories and valorise the use of renewables for integration of hydrogen-energy solutions and enable active participation of consumers
• demonstrate the positive impact of electrolysis on grid balancing
• increase mobility efficiency with lower emissions of pollutants and CO₂. The proposals will have to specify key objectives and indicators such as gCO₂/km for Well to Wheel analysis
• reduce the energy costs; The consortium will have to commit itself to reaching targets for energy cost reduction
• respect Key Performance Indicators described in the MAWP for both hydrogen transport and energy applications and technologies used in the project
• conclude on a business model for the use of hydrogen in isolated territories
• decarbonise the energy system while making it more secure and stable; clear targets shall be expressed in terms of, for example, gCO₂/MWh electrical and/or g CO₂/MWh heat
• create stronger links between isolated territories in Member States with various geographical and economical positions through active cooperation

It is envisaged that the proposals will also bring societal benefits:

• Reduction of energy bills for all actors and especially for public authorities with clear objectives for both energy applications (e.g. €/MWh elec and/or heat) and for transport applications (e.g. €/km)
• Increase quality of life by creating local jobs (that cannot be delocalised) in the isolated territories
• Increase air quality

Any event (accidents, incidents, near misses) that may occur during the project execution shall be reported into the European reference database HIAD (Hydrogen Incident and Accident Database) at https://odin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/engineering-databases.html.