Information session demonstrates strong interest in R&D work packages 3 and 7

On Tuesday 31 January, GroenvermogenNL and NWO jointly organised a live information session on R&D work packages (WP) 3 and 7. The event proved popular with attendees from knowledge institutions and industry in particular. Jörg Gigler, Chairman of the event and General Director of TKI Nieuw Gas en Topsector Energie, emphasised the need for haste as interested parties for WP3 must register by 2 pm on 16 February at the latest.

Fundamental, industrial and applied research
The R&D work packages focus on coordinated deployment of research and innovation in order to accelerate the upscaling and use of green hydrogen. This involves basic and industrial research and experimental development.

For knowledge institutions, business and other organisations
Knowledge institutions, businesses and social organisations can apply for the R&D work packages. The intention is for them to form a single consortium per call. The consortium will be led by a knowledge institution and work on a shared project proposal.

Call WP3 opened
WP3 aims to use innovation to accelerate the direct deployment of green hydrogen. Use should focus on (energy-intensive) industry, mobility and the built-up environment. The first call for WP3 is now open, with a budget of over €14 million.

Procedure, dates and deadlines 
Maarten de Zwart, Senior Programme Manager at NWO, used the information session to outline the procedure for interested parties in the WP3 call. ‘The procedure has three stages,’ he explains. ‘Make sure that you apply in good time.’
Expression of interest: interested parties must register by 2 pm on 16 February. Important factors are their expertise and their potential contribution to WP3.
Workshops: an independent committee will assess each party’s proposed contribution and the value that it adds. This will lead to an initial selection for a potential consortium. Once a party has been selected, it will need to designate one representative for the compulsory workshops. The workshops will be held over 2.5 days in two separate weeks in May (weeks 19 and 22). Led by experts who are involved in WP3, participants will jointly develop ideas for a single integrated project proposal.
Proposal submission: after the workshops, participants will form one final consortium that will work on a project proposal. The consortium must submit the joint project proposal by 2 pm on 18 July 2023. An independent committee will assess the quality of the consortium and of the project proposal. If the score is too low, the consortium will have one opportunity to make improvements.

Call WP7 open in mid-February 
WP7 focuses on the socio-economic aspects of the introduction of green hydrogen. Insight is needed into aspects such as business cases for businesses, legislation and social acceptance. The WP7 call is scheduled to open in mid-February with a budget of over €5 million. Expressions of interest must then be submitted in March or April. This will be followed by the workshops. The deadline for submission of the joint project proposal is September 2023.

Education and knowledge transfer
‘Having enough well-trained people is the key to successfully accelerating upscaling of green hydrogen,’ explained Henk van Terwisga, Programme Manager for HCA at GroenvermogenNL, in his presentation. ‘As such, the calls have criteria for the involvement of educational institutions and arrangement of knowledge transfer.’

Tips 
De Zwart, Van Terwisga and Sofia Derossi, Programme Manager at GroenvermogenNL, in conjunction with Chairman for the day Gigler, took the time to answer questions from attendees. They offered a few tips.
Register your expression of interest in the ISAAC application system well before 16 February.
Make sure that you put the workshops in your diary. The workshops are compulsory for work package applicants.
For the WP3 workshops, select one representative with sufficient expertise to participate in the workshops on behalf of your organization. You can put forward multiple representatives for WP7 workshops.
The calls may also be of interest to innovative SMEs, such as in the manufacturing industry or in small-scale, local hydrogen production.

GroenvermogenNL
A brief remark on GroenvermogenNL comes from Paul de Krom, member of the programme board. ‘We are part of the National Growth Fund and with a budget of €840 million until 2028, we aim to accelerate the development of green hydrogen and make the Netherlands a hub. We are not only committing to R&D, but also to supporting pilots, demonstration projects and the human capital agenda, which is perhaps the greatest success factor in this transition.’

More information?
Presentation information session  WP3 en WP7 (download)