Doris Leblond
OGJ Correspondent
PARIS, Oct. 17 -- A coalition of the European Union, European industry, and the European research community together will invest nearly €1 billion over 6 years in fuel cells and hydrogen research, technological development, and demonstration to achieve a "mass-market rollout" of these technologies before 2020.
This public-private Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) aims to make fuel cells and hydrogen one of Europe's leading strategic energy technologies of the future. The first stakeholders assembly took place Oct. 14-15, marking the official launch of the JTI. Stakeholders include more than 60 private companies—from multinationals to small and medium-size firms—and an equal number of universities and research institutes in the EU.
The main goal is to enable commercialization of hydrogen and fuel cells technology in Europe in 2010-20.
The first call for proposals with an indicative budget of €28.1 million was launched Oct. 8. It covers areas such as transportation and refueling infrastructure and the production, storage, and distribution of hydrogen.
According to the European Commission, the JTI can be seen as the first working example of future European industrial initiatives, as foreseen by the European Strategic Energy Technology plan and intended to play a vital role in accelerating development and implementation of low-carbon technologies.