With a new €10 million programme, the Netherlands and Germany will strengthen their collaboration in the area of energy transition. Both countries face huge technological and economic challenges, having committed to attaining net zero CO2 emissions by 2045–2050. A joint research programme on green hydrogen and green electrons should help them achieve that goal. The focus of the programme is on hydrogen production, storage, transportation and applications.
Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Adriaansens and German Minister of Education and Research Stark-Watzinger announced this new programme during Dutch-German Climate Consultations meeting on 4 October in Berlin. The Netherlands stands to benefit from the German research infrastructure, testing facilities and knowledge. For its part, Germany will also benefit from the strong Dutch knowledge base, the strong infrastructural connection to industrial clusters, and the level of experience in the Netherlands with interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral working.
Objective
The programme aims to promote bilateral collaboration in the field of scientific and technological innovation while also considering the socio-economic aspects involved. The exchange of expertise and infrastructure will provide a basis for broader consortium-building for the European Green Deal in the coming years. The programme builds on the earlier pilot programme ECCM KICkstart DE-NL, a €3 million fund from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs involving 13 shorter research projects.
The ‘Electrochemical Materials and Processes for Green Hydrogen and Green Chemistry’ programme has five themes: electrolysis and hydrogen storage, electrosynthesis and electroconversion, materials and catalysis, system design, and system integration. The partners in this programme are NWO and the German ministries of Economy and Climate (BMWK) and of Education and Research (BMBF); programme implementation will be in the hands of NWO and, on the German side, Projektträger Jülich (PtJ).
This call is part of the Knowledge and Innovation Covenant (KIC 2020-2023, specifically: Demand for Partners). By means of the KIC 2020–2023, NWO is contributing to the Dutch government’s Mission-driven Top Sectors and Innovation Policy.
Call for proposals
For this call, the Netherlands and Germany will each contribute €5 million. Each project must include at least two German and two Dutch partners. The total budget per project will be between €600,000 and €2 million. The closing date for submission of project proposals is 7 February 2023. The board of the NWO Domain Science, augmented by representatives from the two German ministries, will announce its decisions as to which projects will be awarded funding in the autumn of 2023.
