The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, Hy2Move, a fourth Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) to support research, innovation and early industrial deployment in the hydrogen value chain.
The Hy2Move IPCEI has been prepared by seven Member States: Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain. They will provide up to €1.4 billion in public funding, which should leverage a further €3.3 billion in private investment. Under this IPCEI, 11 companies operating in one or more Member States, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, will undertake 13 innovative projects. This could lead to 6,500 new jobs by 2031.
Broad applications in mobility
The fields covered are as follows: the development of mobility and transport applications to integrate hydrogen technologies into means of transport (road, sea and air); the development of high-performance fuel cell technologies, which use hydrogen to produce electricity with enough power to propel ships and locomotives; the development of new-generation on-board storage solutions for hydrogen; and lastly, the development of hydrogen production technologies for mobility and transport applications, in particular to supply on-site hydrogen refuelling stations (with 99.99% pure fuel cell quality hydrogen under pressure).
As for France, Airbus, Gen-Hy, Hydrogène de France and Michelin are all involved.
The Hy2Move IPCEI complements the first three projects on the hydrogen value chain: “Hy2Tech” (15 July 2022), which focuses on the development of hydrogen technologies for end users; “Hy2Use” (21 September 2022), which focuses on hydrogen applications in industry; and “Hy2Infra” (15 February 2024), which deals with infrastructure investments.
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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili
