Registration of interest for communities undertaking hydrogen and fuel cell projects and innovative applications

The long term policy of Europe and many of the world's economic powers is driving for a sustainable, low greenhouse gas emission energy supply. The European Commission’s HYCOM initiative will involve substantial support for public/private initiatives aimed at a limited number of Hydrogen Communities around the Union using hydrogen (together with electricity) as an energy vector for meeting energy needs such as fuel for vehicles or combined heat / power.

The Roads2HyCom project aims to establish a synergy between industry’s technical development requirements and the role of communities or sites¹ (hereafter collectively referred to as “communities”) in providing test and deployment grounds for hydrogen and fuel cells.

As a part of the Framework Six Roads2HyCom project, we are seeking to engage communities developing or planning hydrogen and fuel cell projects or innovative applications, which could in time become candidate communities for HYCOM projects. The exact role of communities within HYCOM is not yet defined in absolute terms and will be developed as a part of an iterative process during this project. It is likely that a substantial element of domestic finance will be required to support HYCOM activities in any given community, and that any project will have to be structured to be suitably attractive to industrial partners.

This registration of interest is seeking to identify communities across the European Union potentially interested in becoming involved in future HYCOM projects and in the Roads2HyCom project scoping process. It does not signify any commitment on the part of the Commission to support any specific project.

It is important that potential HYCOM communities should have already started to engage in developing or planning activities in the field of Hydrogen and Fuel Cell applications or at least be in a position that such activities are planned in the short term future.

Why you should complete this Registration of Interest:

We need to develop a better understanding of the situation and needs of generic potential communities. Communities which respond and help us will have the benefit of making their hydrogen and fuel cells initiatives known, of influencing the way that HYCOM will be eventually structured and of having first hand knowledge of the HYCOM specificities. In addition, within Roads2HyCom, we can provide you with information about other initiatives and support mechanisms throughout Europe. We also plan to write a handbook for hydrogen communities to which your cooperation will be gratefully acknowledged.

We request that you provide a brief response in the proforma and provide supporting material where necessary.

Please note – this is not a call for proposals. We are simply seeking an initial registration of interest and a summary of activities to date.

¹ The term ‘community’ or ‘site’ in this context refers to a group of actors or legal entities, who are stakeholders in or potential operators of, or carriers for, hydrogen infrastructure, supporting hydrogen applications of varying nature (this also includes infrastructure and applications relating to hydrogen-rich fuels), and who together a constitute cluster of hydrogen and fuel cell activities that support each other.