Small-scale turbomachinery for decentralized applications has recently been identified as an enabling technology toward a more sustainable energy landscape. Due to the small scale and the required accuracy, the manufacturing of gas-bearing supported compressors for heat pumps or PEM fuel cells, and turbines for organic Rankine cycles, or gas turbine engines coupled to solid oxide fuel cells, becomes more challenging. This is due to the small scale, the tight manufacturing tolerances, and uncertainty in the material selection. The main obstacle to deploying such systems, however, is the lack of an efficient manufacturing process for materials compatible with small-scale turbomachinery and capable of withstanding high temperatures in some applications. Therefore, this project focuses on the concurrent development of (1) system and component level design methodologies to identify designs that are robust towards manufacturing imperfections, variations in operating conditions, and uncertainty in material properties, (2) an integrated and sustainable manufacturing process platform, and (3) multi-material joining techniques to enable efficient production of small-scale turbomachinery and components. The goal will be achieved by establishing a network of Doctoral Candidates (DC) working in synergy on complementary topics and supported by highly qualified supervisors from European elite universities and research-intensive European companies.

Hydrogen has emerged as a key enabler in the transition to a clean energy system, as it generates zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions upon use. Water electrolysis powered by intermittent renewable energy sources is one of the most promising routes for green hydrogen production. Among the available electrolysers, the anion exchange membrane water electrolyser (AEMWE) has gained attention as a promising technology that enables the use of non-critical raw materials to build its components. However, its large-scale deployment is constrained by the limited efficiency and durability of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), the core component of the system. The HealMEA project, supported by the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions programme, aims to develop a novel self-healing catalyst and MEA with enhanced durability and efficiency for AEMWEs. This will be achieved by transforming earth-abundant transition metals (e.g. Ni, Fe, Mo) into self-healing catalysts through the integration of intrinsic self-healing polymers (e.g. polydopamine, polyimine). Self-healing catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) will then be fabricated using an innovative coating technique. The materials will be characterized using advanced real-time (in situ/operando) techniques. Their performance and durability will be validated under industrially relevant conditions during a secondment at VITO (Belgium). The project will generate new knowledge and enhance the efficiency and durability of AEMWEs. It will contribute to reducing stack costs, directly supporting the EU’s Green Deal, REPowerEU, and the EU Hydrogen Strategy for climate neutrality. The fellowship will also provide the researcher with cutting-edge expertise in catalyst/MEA engineering, in situ/operando characterization, and transferable skills for a career in sustainable energy technologies.

The way in which new materials for clean energy are designed is changing rapidly. Thanks to powerful computer simulations, scientists can study chemical processes that were previously too complex to examine in detail. Electrocatalysis is one of them, as it plays a central role in producing clean fuels like hydrogen. Today, advances in machine learning (ML) are transforming catalysis studies by bridging the gap between two fields: high-precision quantum calculations, which describe matter at the atomic level, and large-scale classical simulations, which reveal the statistical properties necessary for understanding reactivity. The ARCADE project will leverage these advances to create the first ML framework designed specifically to understand and predict electron transfer reactions, key chemical processes that determine how efficient a material is at driving electrocatalysis. This tool will enable the prediction of the most promising materials for designing improved electrodes, which are essential components of electrochemical reactions driven by sustainable energy. This knowledge will inform the development of more efficient and sustainable hydrogen energy production, tackling a major priority of the European Union in its urgent transition to greener energy sources. ARCADE will address three major scientific challenges to achieve this: (1) incorporating the effect of the electric field created by an electrode into an ML-based simulation framework; (2) developing a reliable, user-friendly method to realistically model electron transfer events; and (3) ensuring the models can be applied to a wide range of material compositions. ARCADE will be hosted at the COSMO laboratory at EPFL under the guidance of Prof. Michele Ceriotti, providing an ideal environment for scientific innovation, collaboration and personal growth. By combining cutting-edge computational methods with urgent societal needs, ARCADE will help to create cleaner energy solutions. Optimizing the performance of PECs requires a thorough understanding of the solid/electrolyte interface under operating conditions. These systems are challenging to probe experimentally, and most computational studies, while extremely useful, often ignore the experimentally relevant effect of the applied electrode potential. Moreover, the few approaches that allow the incorporation of bias in the simulations, come with several shortcomings, such as relying on implicit solvents or requiring the use of prohibitively large systems for the accurate modelling of semiconductors. With bismuth vanadate (BiVO?) as our model system, in this project we will leverage recent advances in computational chemistry to (i) develop and apply machine learning interatomic potentials to simulate BiVO? in contact with explicit water and selected electrolytes, (ii) examine the impact of electrode potential on interfacial structure and electronic properties, and (iii) explore water oxidation pathways using enhanced sampling techniques. This project will advance the atomic-scale modelling of electrochemical interfaces in realistic conditions through an integrated simulation framework, and will provide valuable insights into interfacial structures, electronic properties, and reaction mechanisms, that will guide the design of efficient, stable photoelectrodes.
https://doi.org/10.3030/101271904

SuMaCer will deliver sustainable, first?time?right manufacturing of functional ceramics for Net?Zero Energy Industry devices by integrating stereolithography (SLA), ceramic inkjet printing (CIP) and HiPIMS?PVD with Zero?Defect Manufacturing (ZDM), advanced modelling and a Digital Product Passport (DPP) backbone using open interfaces (OPC?UA, MQTT, REST). Three industrial?scale MVPs validate market relevance: (i) a 2?kW high?efficiency SOFC stack; (ii) a 3.5?kW ultra?compact SOEC stack for high?pressure operation; and (iii) a 1.5?kWh metal?supported sodium battery (MS?NaB) module. Demonstrations on pilot lines provided by Solydera, H2B2/IREC (Merce?Lab) and LiNa ensure validation under relevant industrial conditions; manufacturing routes will reach TRL?7 and MVPs TRL?6–7. Acceptance is underpinned by quantified KPIs: defect rate <5%, first?time?right ?95%, energy savings ?70%, material?waste reduction ?80%; CRM reduction is enabled via cobalt?free compositions and thin?film barrier/protective layers. Innovative metrology, a decision?support system and dynamic scheduling implement Detect?Predict?Prevent?Repair ZDM loops for faster ramp?up, higher OEE and lower scrap. Eco?design, LCA/LCC and recycling pathways (?50% recovery for key materials) embed circularity from the outset. Standardisation actions de?risk certification and foster EU?wide uptake and interoperability across equipment vendors and SMEs. Fully aligned with the Made in Europe Partnership and the call’s focus on advanced discrete manufacturing for strategic Net?Zero technologies (batteries, electrolysers, fuel cells), SuMaCer strengthens European industrial sovereignty, reducing strategic dependencies, building high?value skills and enabling sustainable manufacturing leadership, while providing a clear exploitation path towards the creation of a joint-venture for the market uptake through industrial pilots and supply?chain partnerships.

Europe’s climate-neutral transition needs rapid, cost-competitive PEM fuel-cell deployment, yet bipolar plates (BPPs), ~80% of stack weight and 40% of its cost, remain a bottleneck. Current supply depends on imported metallic/graphite plates, exposing EU value chains to risk. Composite BPPs (cBPPs) manufacturing is immature (long cycle times, high scrap rates, fragmented digital control). OEMs demand proven durability, certification-ready quality, and scalable, circular processes for both low- and high-temperature PEMFC. AIM-PLATES combines advanced forming, shaping with a ZERO-X digital backbone (digital twins, inline QA, adaptive control) under an SSbD framework, demonstrated on two complementary EU TRL7 pilot lines: Pilot 1 - thermoplastic/carbon - ultra-thin, high-performance, remanufacturable plates; Pilot 2 - bio-based thermoset/(graphite + biocarbon) - cost-effective, robust, renewable plates. Both lines target first-time-right, low-carbon manufacturing. Demonstrators in aviation (HT-PEMFC short stack) and road vehicle specifically light commercial vehicles (LT-PEMFC – primary; HT-PEMFC – early-use, short stacks) will prove manufacturability and integration, generate comparative datasets vs. incumbent solutions and de-risk adoption. The project spans seven work packages covering materials, processes, pilot-line development, the digital backbone, demonstrations, sustainability, standards road-mapping, skills, exploitation & market uptake, delivering new knowledge, validated industrial assets and an exploitation strategy aligned with NZIA, Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA, and Made in Europe. By 2030, AIM-PLATES will strengthen EU sovereignty in hydrogen technologies by reducing reliance on imported BPPs and fossil inputs, cutting CO2 per plate by up to 60%, and establishing replication pathways to electrolysers, flow batteries and other net-zero technologies, supporting circular, digitised, resilient value chains and Industry 5.0 skills in the EU.

This project will investigate aqueous semiconductor interfaces for water splitting applications, using advanced computational chemistry methods. Green hydrogen, produced from water electrolysis using renewable energy, is expected to play a key role in the energy transition and cover approximately 10% of the EU’s energy needs by 2050. One promising production route is using photoelectrochemical cells (PECs), where photogenerated charge carriers in semiconductor electrodes catalyse the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions. However, the commercialization of PECs is hindered by low efficiencies, material instability, and cost. Optimizing the performance of PECs requires a thorough understanding of the solid/electrolyte interface under operating conditions. These systems are challenging to probe experimentally, and most computational studies, while extremely useful, often ignore the experimentally relevant effect of the applied electrode potential. Moreover, the few approaches that allow the incorporation of bias in the simulations, come with several shortcomings, such as relying on implicit solvents or requiring the use of prohibitively large systems for the accurate modelling of semiconductors. With bismuth vanadate (BiVO?) as our model system, in this project we will leverage recent advances in computational chemistry to (i) develop and apply machine learning interatomic potentials to simulate BiVO? in contact with explicit water and selected electrolytes, (ii) examine the impact of electrode potential on interfacial structure and electronic properties, and (iii) explore water oxidation pathways using enhanced sampling techniques. This project will advance the atomic-scale modelling of electrochemical interfaces in realistic conditions through an integrated simulation framework, and will provide valuable insights into interfacial structures, electronic properties, and reaction mechanisms, that will guide the design of efficient, stable photoelectrodes.
https://doi.org/10.3030/101271904

The IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario highlights the critical need for substantial expansion of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen to meet increasing demand by 2030 and 2050. Large-scale deployment hinges on enhancing the efficiency, durability, and cost-effectiveness of hydrogen production technologies, particularly high-temperature solid oxide electrolysers (SOEL). However, SOEL technology faces significant challenges, specially material degradation, high cost and system instability. Achieving a target operational lifetime of over 40,000 hours requires innovative approaches to predict and mitigate degradation maximising performance, including accelerated stress tests and advanced modelling. Cost reduction strategies involving high-performance materials and innovative BoP designs are also essential. To address these challenges, ThunderStack aims to develop and validate a new sustainable SOEL concept combined with novel operation methods (AC:DC) for optimal thermal control. ThunderStack's solutions involve advanced materials to control microstructure and reduce degradation, optimizing manufacturing processes, and improving circularity through CRM recovery. The project will also focus on optimizing BoP components and operation modes to reduce CAPEX and OPEX. By achieving the ambitious KPIs and objectives, ThunderStack aims to make renewable hydrogen a viable and cost-effective energy vector, contributing to the broader goals of the IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario.

HyCO² aims to revolutionize hydrogen compression technology by upscaling and demonstrating an innovative metal hydride (MH) compressor tailored for diverse application ranges across mobility, distribution, and industrial sectors. The project addresses the critical need for efficient, cost-effective, silent and environmentally sustainable compression solutions in a hydrogen-based economy. The central objective is the development of a modular MH compressor package capable of flexibly addressing varied pressure requirements, from 30 bar for industrial applications, to 300 bar for distribution, and up to 900 bar for mobility applications. This versatility will be validated with a full-scale prototype demonstrating high flow performance (30 kg H2 in 12 minutes at 900 bar) under real-world conditions at a dedicated research facility. To ensure environmental compatibility and long-term sustainability, HyCO² aims to select and integrate a non-toxic, highly recyclable, and abundantly available metal hydride alloy offering superior performance and durability. The project will further explore cost reduction strategies through effective waste heat utilisation and advanced thermal management techniques by means of a sophisticated simulation toolchain, significantly lowering the operational costs of hydrogen compression in targeted applications. In parallel, an innovative hydrogen-based heat box will be developed to enhance the compressor’s flexibility and operational efficiency across various environments and configurations. By tackling key challenges in hydrogen compression, HyCO² directly supports the objectives of the Clean Hydrogen JU’s Annual Work Programme, particularly the advancement of robust, scalable, and sustainable hydrogen technologies. The outcomes of HyCO² will accelerate market readiness and deployment of hydrogen distribution and refueling infrastructure, contributing Europe’s transition toward a low-carbon economy.

The hydrogen network is crucial for the European society and any failure or damage could potentially have an enormous negative impact. Due to the rapidly evolving threat and geopolitical landscape, especially with incidents like the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas infrastructure, organizations overseeing critical infrastructure face significant challenges. To face manmade and natural hazards aggravated by climate change, it is crucial to implement resilience-enhancing measures. Hydrogen can be integrated into the natural gas network to advance a low-carbon economy, but first certain technical and regulatory challenges need to be addressed. Blended gas networks must ensure safe and efficient operation while meeting energy demand requirements. The establishment of a universal limit for hydrogen within the European gas infrastructure is challenging due to uncertainties regarding material integrity. SHIELD proposal will enhance the management of hydrogen injection in blended gas networks by expanding our understanding of hydrogen projects along with their associated risks. SHIELD proposes innovative risk assessment methods and solutions to enhance security and reduce risks of natural hazards such as floods, landslides, wildfires, and earthquakes, and cyber-attacks on pipelines transporting hydrogen. This will be accomplished by mapping hydrogen facilities across Europe, identifying their vulnerability, developing an automated threat detection approach to promptly indicate incidents to both critical infrastructure owners and member states authorities, identify strategies for effectively managing a blended gas network ensuring the safe integration of hydrogen into natural gas infrastructure.

The aviation industry is under pressure to move away from fossil fuels and adopt cleaner energy. If successful, this shift would help airlines meet their long-term environmental targets. Solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) technology is a promising solution for producing sustainable aviation fuel via Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis. However, scaling up this technology has proven challenging. The EU-funded SAFphyre project aims to lift the obstacles hindering the scaling up of the SOE FT technology. Specifically, it will improve cell performance, energy efficiency, and heat integration while reducing costs, demonstrating the technology, and addressing key technical difficulties.

H2SCORE aims to demonstrate how integrated Fuel Cell and Hydrogen (FCH) technologies can enable the next generation of Renewable Energy Communities (RECs), enhancing their decarbonisation, resilience, and energy autonomy. The project combines low-temperature (PEM electrolyser, metal hydride storage, PEM fuel cell) and high-temperature (reversible Solid Oxide Cell powered by syngas from local biomass) hydrogen systems in a modular, replicable setup. The concept will be demonstrated in the operational Valsesia REC (Quarona, Italy). The system will be fully integrated with the local electrical grid and District Heating Network, enabling sector coupling, and managed through an advanced Energy Management System aimed at multi-vector (electricity, heat, hydrogen, biomass) optimisation and oriented towards REC-specific objectives. A portable hydrogen-powered fuel cell genset will also be deployed for temporary or mobile use cases. This first-of-its-kind H2-REC will operate at TRL7 through a 12-month demonstration campaign, also including on-site detection of pollutant emissions and hydrogen leakages. A cloud-based monitoring tool will track REC KPIs in real time, support stakeholder engagement, and promote replicability. H2SCORE modelling framework integrates techno-economic, environmental, regulatory, safety, and social dimensions to guide both H2-REC impacts assessment and replication strategy. Four replication studies (Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Canada) will test the concept across different geographies, user needs, regulatory environments, and both on- and off-grid settings. The project builds on previous EU-funded FCH projects and leverages the complementary expertise of 15 partners, fostering synergies with relevant EU and national initiatives to scale up hydrogen-ready RECs across Europe and beyond.

The SUNPEROM project aims to transform renewable energy by developing a solar-driven system for direct methanol synthesis from atmospheric CO2. The primary objective is to achieve a Solar-to-Methanol efficiency exceeding 12% through the creation of an innovative, cost-effective tandem device. This device features a high-voltage perovskite-perovskite solar conversion stack and an advanced near-infrared (NIR) photocatalyst-mixed gas diffusion layer for efficient CO2 capture and conversion, utilizing the full solar spectrum. Taking a high-risk, high-reward approach, SUNPEROM targets significant breakthroughs in solar fuel production technology, delivering green methanol at a competitive price. The technology integrates diverse renewable energy components, including high-voltage all-perovskite tandem solar cells, NIR photocatalysts, solid-state CO2 capture, and direct electroreduction of CO2, representing a comprehensive approach to solar fuel production. The project emphasizes advancing cutting-edge technologies and contributing to a net-zero greenhouse gas emissions economy. To elevate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), the project includes plans for standardized validation of the SUNPEROM tandem device, with a clear focus on moving beyond the conceptual stage towards practical implementation. Environmental and social impacts are also prioritized, with a thorough Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) planned to assess sustainability. Additionally, the proposal benchmarks SUNPEROM against current commercial technologies, aiming to surpass existing performance standards, reduce production costs, minimize land use, and achieve a low energy payback time for sustainable solar fuel production. Regulatory compliance is a key aspect, ensuring alignment with current policies for a smooth transition to commercialization.

Electrochemical water splitting (WS) offers a promising pathway for hydrogen production and the storage of zero-carbon electricity generated from intermittent and non-dispatchable renewable sources. Among emerging technologies, anion exchange membrane water electrolysers (AEMWEs) stand out as the most promising systems for efficient WS. However, their broader adoption is hindered by the limited efficiency and durability of current WS catalysts. Supported by the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions programme, the INNOSHEAL project will develop novel, sustainable WS catalysts with enhanced durability and efficiency, enabled by innovative self-healing properties. The project will use advanced catalyst design strategies, incorporating high densities of Fe-, Mo-, and Ni-based catalytic sites, along with auxiliary systems that promote self-repair through subnanometric chalcogenide layers.

DT-HATS focuses on the decarbonization of the heavy-duty transport sector – which is currently responsible for over 30% of the sector CO2 emissions – by exploiting the combination of green hydrogen and ammonia with their technical and economic potentials. The project will offer a systematic training to the recruited doctoral candidates who will produce new knowledge in ammonia and hydrogen flow and reacting processes realized in powertrains used for transport and efficient utilization in the H2 ecosystems. The overall aim is to: research H2 and NH? as fuels from a fundamental level to build a detailed database; develop new validated CFD models specific for H2 and NH?, enhanced with ML for faster, predictive design; create reduced-order models based on multi-fidelity CFD-ML data and experiments for efficient exploration of H2 and NH? ecosystems, from component level like injectors to system level like engines, to aid decarbonization in transport sectors. Ultimately, DT-HATS through its research and training programs at the intersection of energy engineering and computational science will strength digital skills and expertise of young scientists and entrepreneurs to tackle present and future challenges and will also promote green e-fuels adoption in transport, boosting renewable energy growth.

The number of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) in the European Union (EU) willincrease significantly over the coming years, as stipulated in the EU Regulation 2023/1804on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure. The hydrogen refuellinginfrastructure is maturing rapidly: achieving higher flow rates for fast heavy duty refuelling,tapping into new hydrogen sources to guarantee sufficient supply, and reducing downtimeto cope with the increasing demand. To support these developments, this project aims todevelop metrology infrastructure and provide new measurement standards, methods, andbest practices for measurement of both hydrogen quality and quantity.

The Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyser (AEMEL) demonstrates potential advantages compared with the more established Alkaline Electrolyser and Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyser in easing the cell design, and lowering capital and operating expenditures. Nevertheless, AEMEL faces challenges due to its poor durability and low efficiency, which demands further research and innovation in Membrane-Electrode-Assembly (MEA) optimisation and cell design. Furthermore, coupling the AEMEL with industry requires another technological challenge in producing direct pressurised hydrogen to the end user. Taking the aforementioned challenges into consideration, ENDURION’s main objective is to develop an efficient, durable, low-cost pressurised AEMEL through the synergistic approach of MEA materials development and novel cell design employing exclusively earth-abundant materials and up-scalable processing. Learning from the previous progress of main EU projects on AEMEL, ENDURION addresses the AEMEL challenges through integrating recent advances in materials science, modern characterisations and processing tools, data-driven optimisation through machine learning, internal and external AEMEL components designed for electrochemical compression. Systematic works on novel materials development of sustainable porous transport layer, CRM-free catalysts, ionic liquid co-catalysts and environmentally benign bioresource membrane, along with novel up-scalable AEMEL cell and stack design will be the main tasks. ENDURION is expected to demonstrate an innovative pressurised AEMEL with a 30 % improved efficiency and 30 % more durable, at H2 production cost reaches EUR 450 /kg H2 It is also projected that ENDURION’s outcomes in the long run will contribute to an increased market share of AEMEL for the production of green hydrogen, reduced global carbon emission, a reduction of the European dependency on critical raw materials.

The Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyser (AEMEL) demonstrates potential advantages compared with the more established Alkaline Electrolyser and Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyser in easing the cell design, and lowering capital and operating expenditures. Nevertheless, AEMEL faces challenges due to its poor durability and low efficiency, which demands further research and innovation in Membrane-Electrode-Assembly (MEA) optimisation and cell design. Furthermore, coupling the AEMEL with industry requires another technological challenge in producing direct pressurised hydrogen to the end user. Taking the aforementioned challenges into consideration, ENDURION’s main objective is to develop an efficient, durable, low-cost pressurised AEMEL through the synergistic approach of MEA materials development and novel cell design employing exclusively earth-abundant materials and up-scalable processing. Learning from the previous progress of main EU projects on AEMEL, ENDURION addresses the AEMEL challenges through integrating recent advances in materials science, modern characterisations and processing tools, data-driven optimisation through machine learning, internal and external AEMEL components designed for electrochemical compression. Systematic works on novel materials development of sustainable porous transport layer, CRM-free catalysts, ionic liquid co-catalysts and environmentally benign bioresource membrane, along with novel up-scalable AEMEL cell and stack design will be the main tasks. ENDURION is expected to demonstrate an innovative pressurised AEMEL with a 30 % improved efficiency and 30 % more durable, at H2 production cost reaches EUR 450 /kg H2 It is also projected that ENDURION’s outcomes in the long run will contribute to an increased market share of AEMEL for the production of green hydrogen, reduced global carbon emission, a reduction of the European dependency on critical raw materials.

NIAGARA’s project intends to make a significant contribution to the development of a sustainable process chain, involving the shaping and procurement of openly available EU biogenic wastes (wastewaters, digestate, sewage sludge etc.), a production of carbohydrate-rich microalgae , an innovative continuous and flexible HTC process to convert the mix of biogenic wastes and microalgae into a solid fraction (hydrochar) and an aqueous phase that will in turn be converted into an advanced biofuel (a biogenic syngas rich in hydrogen) via gasification and aqueous phase reforming. Subsequent syngas cleaning processes are envisaged to ensure a full compatibility of the syngas to the solid oxide fuel cells. NIAGARA’s value chain will feature a very low carbon balance with a strong potential to become carbon negative overtime. NIAGARA will dramatically improve advanced biofuel production by combining complementary scientific and industrial know-how while fostering various promising market applications (e.g. fuel cells). the NIAGARA methodology, which derives from the ambitious idea of producing advanced biofuels from EU-widely available biomasses and wastes on a fully circular basis, making this value chain ultimately sustainable. The main market application that is sought in the NIAGARA project is the generation of electricity using highly efficient SOFC. This implies (i) individually developing key innovative and carbon-efficient processes, (ii) assessing their performances (carbon footprints, energy balance and production yields), and (iii) demonstrating their integration and global compatibility to reach the objective of negative carbon emission on the biofuel production chain up to the generation of electricity. NIAGARA will contribute towards lowering the technological, economic, and social barriers faced by the development of the contemplated processes at TRL5. The outcome of this work will contribute directly and significantly to EU’s overall renewal energy targets.

PEM water electrolysers (PEMWE) and PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) technologies currently rely on perfluorinated sulfonic acid (PFSA)-based materials and components, which pose significant health and environmental risks due to the release of toxic fluorine groups during production and disposal. Moreover, the production of PFSA remains costly, compounding the challenges associated with their use. Therefore, the ECOPEM project aims at developing safe-by-design, non-fluorinated hydrocarbon-based membranes, reinforcements, and ionomers. This ambitious work will be facilitated by the development and implementation of life cycle thinking tools addressing environmental and economic dimensions to drive the research and innovation using quantifiable sustainability criteria. ECOPEM will deliver scientific breakthroughs in the design and processing of materials, components and membrane electrode assembles (MEAs) enabling replacement of PFSAs by hydrocarbon-based polymers in membranes and catalyst layers. The project will validate the significant benefits of these MEAs by demonstrating an increased current density, reaching a minimum of 3 A cm-2 at a cell voltage of 1.8 V and degradation rate < 5V/h for PEMWE cells; and a power density > 1.5 W/cm2 at 0.650 V and a degradation rate < 5 V/h for PEMFC using harmonized JRC testing procedures. Achieving these ambitious targets would result in a new standard for hydrocarbon-based MEAs for PEMWE and PEMFC applications.

Heavy-duty vehicles, machinery, aircraft, and ships contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants. To support decarbonisation, new fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia are being explored, raising questions about their impact on harmful emissions. The EU-funded LowC project will investigate the effects of these new fuels on air pollutants and climate-driving emissions in high-power engines. It will also assess upstream emissions and secondary pollutants under various atmospheric conditions. The project will use advanced technologies, including an engine emission facility for testing low- or zero-carbon fuels on real engines, oxidation flow reactors for atmospheric simulations, and innovative methods for real-time exhaust characterisation. Ultimately, it will evaluate the health and environmental impacts of these fuels.

Balance of Plant (BoP) systems are crucial for the stable and efficient operation of fuel cell systems. Optimising BoP components and overall system characteristics is key to enhancing performance, durability, and cost efficiency. The EU-funded BeBoP project aims to improve the efficiency and durability of fuel cell systems for heavy-duty applications while reducing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). The project will focus on advancing key BoP components, including air compression, humidification, and DC-DC conversion. Performance testing will be conducted using a fuel cell engine or test bench. These advancements will optimise both individual components and the overall system, emphasising improved performance, increased durability, and reduced costs.

The push for novel green energy sources, solutions, and innovations has sparked growing interest in hydrogen, particularly green hydrogen fuel. However, despite this increased interest and the emergence of new solutions, the novelty of the concept means most production methods remain inefficient or underdeveloped. The EU-funded HyPrAEM project aims to develop a groundbreaking Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyser stack and a layout capable of producing hydrogen at unprecedented gauge pressures. This would enable direct integration into various processes used by the thermochemical industry. Additionally, the project will leverage green energy and storage solutions to advance the technology while ensuring high efficiency and sustainability.

The transition to renewable electricity is vital for decarbonising industries, but energy storage remains a challenge. Current technologies are either energy-inefficient or incompatible with the catalytic processes needed for long-term storage. To address this issue, the EU-funded HYPPER project will integrate process intensification with innovative molecular catalysis. The project will develop a compact, high-efficiency reactor that combines liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) storage with proton-ceramic steam-electrolysis/fuel-cell technology. This system promises to improve energy storage, potentially achieving over 75 % round-trip efficiency while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. HYPPER’s scalable, load-flexible design will enhance sustainability in the energy sector and contribute to the widespread adoption of renewable energy systems.

As the world strives to combat climate change, the need for sustainable energy solutions has never been greater. Green hydrogen is seen as a key element in decarbonising various sectors, but existing production methods are often expensive and energy-intensive. Additionally, producing green hydrogen from seawater remains a challenge due to the corrosive nature of saltwater and the need for efficient, low-cost systems. To address these issues, the EU-funded ASTERISK problem will integrate seawater treatment with green hydrogen production using an anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyser which is free of platinum group metal (PGM). The project focuses on developing AEM stack components that are stable and compatible under saline conditions. Overall, ASTERISK strives to support the EU’s renewable energy and carbon neutrality goals.

A key benefit of liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) technology is its ability to convert hydrogen gas into a stable liquid energy carrier, significantly improving storage, transport and distribution. The EU-funded PeCATHS project aims to develop an integrated long-term energy storage system using hydrogen in LOHCs, combined with innovative biomass conversion. This approach will enable the direct transfer of hydrogen from biomass to LOHCs without gas production and generate high-value chemicals, enhancing both sustainability and efficiency. The project uses biomass as a hydrogen source and solar power as a renewable energy source, simplifying integration and reducing costs compared to conventional systems. It addresses the urgent need for sustainable energy storage, transport and distribution.

InsigH2t aims to advance the current scientific understanding regarding the effect of pressure on the turbulent burning rate, thermoacoustic response, and emissions performance of premixed hydrogen flames under relevant gas-turbines operating conditions. Hydrogen, with its high diffusivity and reactivity, poses significant challenges to its clean and efficient utilisation as a fuel in gas-turbines, due to the lack of understanding of its pressure-dependent turbulent burning rate, crucial for combustion stability in gas-turbines operation. InsigH2t leverages high-pressure experimental measurements, featuring advanced optical diagnostics, coupled to cutting-edge direct numerical simulations, focusing on a selection of simple canonical flames that are paradigms of more complex industrial burner geometries and configurations. The fundamental insights gained will facilitate the development of advanced models and enhanced design tools, empowering industrial OEMs to reduce the significant development time and costs of hydrogen combustion technologies. By leveraging science-based predictive capabilities, InsigH2t aims to accelerate the deployment of clean, reliable, and efficient hydrogen-fired gas turbines. The project's impact extends beyond scientific understanding, addressing directly relevant industry challenges. Crucially, the involvement of two gas turbine OEMs ensures full alignment with the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, facilitating the swift transfer of improved combustion methodologies and understanding towards application in operational power plants. Ultimately, InsigH2t's contributions align fully with the objectives of the EU Green Deal, reducing dependency on fossil fuels and offering a tangible pathway towards a more sustainable energy future. Key Data

The waterborne transport sector, one of the largest contributors to emissions, requires technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce emissions. The EU-funded SEASTARS project aims to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 30 % by 2030 (compared to 2008 levels) and improve energy efficiency by 20 % (relative to 2022) across eight vessel designs, including four retrofits and four new builds for inland, short-distance, and high-seas shipping. The project will deploy innovative technologies such as propeller-hull optimisation, air lubrication, fuel cells, electric motors, solar panels, and alternative fuels like biofuels, hydrogen, and ammonia. Using Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), SEASTARS will enable shipowners to evaluate emissions and efficiency, develop decarbonisation strategies, and make well-informed investment decisions.

HYROPE proposes to combine unique, fundamental skills of four European laboratories to perform atmospheric and high-pressure experiments coupled to high-performance simulations of an innovative concept for gas turbines to burn zero-carbon, hydrogen-based fuels. Due to their high-power density, it would be a potential game-changing technology that can deliver energy on demand for both power and aviation. Gas turbine technology has evolved from an abundance of hydrocarbon fossil fuels but has the unique potential to be fuel flexible and burn renewable, zero-carbon hydrogen-based fuels such as hydrogen or ammonia. However, these fuels raise several fundamental issues as they have very different combustion properties and emission properties when compared to hydrocarbon fuels. Hydrogen is highly diffusive, extremely reactive, and its turbulent burning rate exhibits an unexplained strong pressure dependence. Predicting whether hydrogen flames that are stable at atmospheric pressure will be stable at higher pressures, as needed in gas turbines, remains an unsolved fundamental problem. Ammonia is a convenient hydrogen carrier that can be partially decomposed to hydrogen but requires careful control of NOx emissions. How to handle the effects of pressure on these fuels is a major gap in our scientific knowledge. HYROPE will study the effects of pressure on the combustion of hydrogen-based fuels in a fuel flexible, staged combustion approach where the first stage is controlled by flame propagation and the second one by autoignition. This configuration offers enormous potential that has not yet been exploited for such fuels. This can only be achieved through a joint work combining state-of-the-art tools, from novel experimental facilities at high pressures, advanced optical diagnostics to high-performance computing. The project will accelerate the development of new, high-power density, fuel-flexible combustion systems and unleash the potential of zero-carbon gas turbines.

The EU aims to position renewable hydrogen as a key energy source for decarbonisation. Solid oxide-based electrolysers (SOEL) have the potential to provide the EU with a competitive edge in the global hydrogen economy. The EU-funded Hy-SPIRE project seeks to enhance SOEL technology by lowering operating temperatures to below 700 °C and improving flexibility to match renewable energy generation. Key performance indicators (KPIs) include low degradation, high current densities, and rapid operation. The project will focus on developing new oxygen ion-conducting (O-SOE) and proton-conducting (P-SOE) cells on ceramic and metallic supports, with an emphasis on advanced materials and manufacturing techniques. Its objectives include reducing hydrogen production costs to EUR 3 per kg by 2030 and optimising production for large-scale applications.

Europe faces the joint challenge of decarbonising ever newer sectors and applications, whilst also seeking clean waste treatment and valorisation pathways. With over 300Mt of waste generated each year, Europe could produce up to 30Mt of clean hydrogen from waste to accelerate the decarbonisation of challenging sectors like aviation and heavy industry. However, exploiting this energy potential remains a challenge and so far, no robust and cost-effective solutions has been successfully commercialised. HYIELD aims to open a new low-cost pathway for clean hydrogen production and waste disposal. The project proposes a novel multi-stage steam gasification and syngas purification plant concept, which will efficiently convert different organic waste streams into hydrogen and is expected to achieve H2 99.97% purity and 62-74% energy conversion efficiency. The concept includes several beyond state-of-the-art innovations, including a novel process design, waste heat exploitation, Water-Gas-Shift membrane reactor, low-pressure metal hydride storage buffer and IA driven digital twin. The solution will be implemented at 3MW scale in a cement plant in Spain, where the hydrogen will be exploited for cement kiln firing. The demonstrator is expected to operate for 4,000h over a 15-month testing period with at least 10 different organic waste streams, treating over 3.9kt of dry material and producing 650t of hydrogen. It will also carry out the groundwork for up-scaling post-project locally and across the EU, working closely with industrial partners from the cement, steel, copper and gas sectors. It is forecasted that the solution will be able to deliver a Levelized Cost of Hydrogen of 2.19€/kg at industrial scale (20,000t/year waste treated), far below current electrolyser pathways (>5.5€/kg). The project is led by a consortium of Europe’s leading research groups, technology developers and industrial players in the hydrogen sector, from Spain, France, Germany, Norway and Luxembourg.

With rising anthropogenic CO2 emissions resulting in climate change, solutions to rapidly bring green hydrogen to market are required. PH2OTOGEN aims to build a scalable photocatalytic flow reactor for green hydrogen production with parallel production of value-added oxidation products, which will contribute to the revenues of the overall system. The PH2OTOGEN consortium will use advanced characterisation techniques to determine promising and novel combinations of semiconducting materials to achieving an average solar-to-hydrogen efficiency of > 5% over 500 hours in a 500 cm2 demonstrator.

To mitigate the impact of greenhouse gas on the environment and climate, the gas turbine power generation industry must rapidly reduce its emissions. This requires abandoning the traditional combustion of carbon-based natural gas in favour of carbon-free fuels. ACHIEVE aims at developing the fundamental knowledge to enable a transition to unconventional carbon-free fuel blends based around H2 and NH3 to achieve zero carbon emissions, ultra-low NOx emissions, and stable gas turbine operation. ACHIEVE proposes a three-pronged strategy consisting of (a) experimental and (b) numerical activities, that will advance the technology readiness level (TRL) up to 4 for practical low emissions combustors for realistic and representative blends of fuels, as well as (c) system level engagement with OEMS, end users, and stakeholders. Experimental campaigns will explore combustor stability limits, emissions, and fundamental aspects of the combustion of hydrogen blends, with the complexity of the experimental burners and operating conditions increasing over time and culminating in tests performed at intermediate pressures and powers relevant for gas turbine conditions. Numerical activities will address combustion modelling challenges, including chemical kinetics, fundamental physics governing flame dynamics, ushering in new modelling techniques such as artificially thickened flames coupled with virtual chemistry, sub-grid LES models for thermo-diffusive instabilities and stability analysis aimed to understand and predict NOx formation mechanism, lean blow off, flashback limits and thermoacoustic instabilities. Real-time monitoring and predictive capabilities for practical combustion systems will also be developed. Finally, in the third prong, engagement with industry, OEMs, and other target groups will leverage the results of ACHIEVE with the necessary stakeholders to progress the transition to a carbon-free fuels for power generation.

Liquid hydrogen is a key solution to enable strong carbon reduction for energy, chemical and mobility industries. If technologies are mature for light vehicles fast refuelling, it is still a challenge for heavy duty applications, hampering massive environmental gains for aviation, maritime, railroad. DelHyVEHR offers to fill the gap of liquid hydrogen distribution technologies by driving the maturation to the demonstration at TRL 6 of the large-scale refuelling station and each main systems with a specific focus on pumping, metering, loading and boil-off gas management systems. DelHyVEHR main objectives are to: • Develop a high flowrate (>5 t/h and up to 6 t/h) transfer cryogenic pump for LH2 refuelling stations with high efficiency (>60%) and high reliability (Mean Time Between Maintenance > 3000h) • Develop and adapt loading and dispensing systems for the high-flowrate refuelling station • Develop and optimize a boil-off gas management system enable to recover >80% of the hydrogen • Design, build and operate the LH2 refuelling station to refill a cryogenic storage of 4-6 m3 and with integrated technologies demonstrated over long-time operation (>10 h) • Assess economic, environmental impacts and policy suitability of the technologies and demonstrator with expected cost reduction of investments and operation of LH2 bunkering stations at 1.5 €/kg and deliver H2 carbon footprint aligned with RED II legislation below 3.38 kgCO2/kgH2 • Ensure safety of the LH2 bunkering station and its operation DelHyVEHR demonstration before 2027 will enable commercialisation before 2029 to target 15 refuelling stations in 2030 and up to 81 stationsin 2040 for shipping, aviation and railroad markets. To succeed, DelHyVEHR gathers 13 EU leading partners covering the whole value chain from component development to system demonstration and assessment, along with an advisory board of worldwide leading H2 end-users.

The HyPowerGT project aims at moving technological frontiers to enable gas turbines to operate on hydrogen without dilution. The core technology is a novel dry-low emission combustion technology (DLE H2) capable of handling mixtures of natural gas and hydrogen with concentrations up to 100% H2. The combustion technology has been successfully validated at TRL5 (early 2021) retrofitted on the combustion system of a 13 MWe industrial gas turbine (NovaLT12). Besides ensuring low emissions and high efficiency, the DLE H2 combustion technology offers fuel flexibility and response capability on a par with modern gas-turbine engines fired with natural gas. The new technology will be fully retrofittable to existing gas turbines, thereby providing opportunities for refurbishing existing assets in industry (CHP) and offering new capacities in the power sector for load levelling the grid system (unregulated power) and for mechanical drives. The DLE H2 technology adheres to the strictest specifications for fuel flexibility, NOx emissions, ramp-up rate, and safety, stated in the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda 2021-2027. System prototype. The new DLE H2 combustion technology will be further refined and matured and, towards the end of the project, demonstrated at TRL7 on a 16.9 MWe gas-turbine engine (NovaLT16) fired with fuel blends mixed with hydrogen from 0-100% H2. Within this wide range, emphasis is placed on meeting pre-set targets for (a) fuel flexibility and handling capabilities, (b) concentration of hydrogen fuel during the start-up phase, (c) ability to operate at varying hydrogen contents, (d) minimum ramp speed, and (e) safety aspects pertaining to any level with regard to related systems and applications targeting industrial gas-turbine engines in the 10-20 MWe class. A digital twin will be developed to simulate performance and durability characteristics, emulating cyclic operations of a real cogeneration plant in the Italian paper industry.

The aim of HERFUSE proposal is to design innovative fuselage and empennages suitable for the future Hybrid-Electric Regional aircraft (HER) that will contribute to the overall target to reduce Green House Gases (GHG) emissions. HERFUSE will study the challenges on fuselage and empennages layout, material, components, manufacturing and assembly derived by integration of the relevant fuselage systems for HER as defined in the SRIA for a Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft and in HER-01 topic. HERFUSE integrates features and components necessary to regional hybrid-electric propulsion and complementary systems as well as improves weight, durability, aerodynamic efficiency and operational issues. The technologies and solutions matured in this project shall be aligned and feed with models, analyses and actual test data HERA project on regional aircraft (HORIZON-JU-CLEAN-AVIATION-2022-01-TRA-01). HERFUSE technologies, manufacturing and assembly of critical components will make feasible achieving the targeted performance gains of HER enablers such as low GHG energy sources (batteries and fuel cells), their storage (probable liquid in hydrogen case), their distribution and management, operational and safety features, thermal management provisions, electrical and thermal insulation. Technical solutions set by the HERFUSE will contribute then to the overall target and studies performed at aircraft level in HERA to reduce emissions. Namely, HERFUSE integration requirements will be concurrent and complementary to the aircraft-level ones set into HERA.

The overarching objective of the H2MARINE project is to design, build, test and validate two (2) PEM stacks generating 250 - 300 kW electric power designed for marine applications. The H2MARINE project takes a top-down approach, building on a proof of concept of two PEM stacks that are developed in the EU and Switzerland.

In the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, high emissions from industries and mobility pose a significant environmental challenge. Traditional energy sources contribute to pollution and climate change, urging a shift towards renewable alternatives. In this context, the EU-funded IMAGHyNE project aims to pave the way for a large-scale renewable hydrogen economy, integrating seamlessly into the region’s energy system while tackling emissions from high-polluting sectors. Specifically, the project will deploy 57 MW of electrolysis capacity and innovative hydrogen supply chains to address emissions while meeting high sector demands. The project’s objectives span from fuel cell vehicle deployment to advancing robust energy systems including production and storage, fostering a renewable hydrogen economy. IMAGHyNE aligns with EU strategies, extending its impact through replication and communication efforts.

The European Green Deal aims at a 90% reduction in transport emissions to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. The main leverage of road, rail, aviation, and waterborne transport is increasing the share of renewable fuels. SUN-to-LIQUID II addresses this challenge with an integrated solar-thermochemical pathway that has the potential to produce sustainable and cost-effective fuels at the scale of future demand directly from sunlight, water and CO2. The primary objective is to achieve a record-high energy conversion of 15% - a 3-fold increase of the state of the art - by bringing novel concepts (TRL 2) and lab-scale developments (TRL 3) to the field (TRL 4-5). To this end, the aims are the optimization of a high-flux solar concentrating heliostat & tower system, the development and integration of novel 3D structured reactants and implementation of high-temperature heat recovery within the solar-thermochemical system. Detailed scale-up and constraint analyses and a commercial exploitation of the solar-thermochemical fuel technology strategy complement the key objectives for the way forward. Through a 48-months 5.7-MEuros valued action, SUN-to-LIQUID II will demonstrate on-sun the viability of the integrated solar fuel pathway on a 50-kW scale, and will create a conceptual design of a next-generation commercial multi-megawatt-scale solar plant. Gathering three research organisations, two industry partners and one SME from five European countries, the highly complementary consortium builds on its unique expertise and unique state-of-the-art research facilities. As a result, five expected outcomes of HORIZON-CL5-2022-D3-03-07 are achieved with research, development and demonstration of the SUN-to-LIQUID II technology, and with the system analyses providing the evidence for a pathway towards cost-effective and deep GHG emission reduction especially for aviation, with technical scalability to production potentials beyond projected future demand.

Three major European truck manufacturers will deploy 150 trucks for long-haul operations covering distances exceeding 600 km across eight EU Member States. To facilitate this initiative, a new network of hydrogen refuelling stations will be created along key transport corridors in both north and south Europe. The EU-funded H2Accelerate TRUCKS project highlights hydrogen as a potential solution to reduce carbon emissions within the road freight industry. It will generate a comprehensive data set, which will be analysed to produce a publicly accessible report on fleet performance. This report will be made available to policymakers, truck operators and the hydrogen industry to assist in the adoption of and investment in hydrogen-powered trucks and their associated supply chains.

Long-haul BEVs and FCEVs need to become more affordable and reliable, more energy efficient, with a longer range per single charge, and a reduced charging time to meet the user’s needs. Next to those, there is a real need to take zero-emission long-haul goods transport in Europe to the next level by executing real-world demonstrations of BEVs and FCEVs spread all over Europe; this also requires that technology soon can deliver on promised benefits (easy handling, similar driving hours & charging/fueling, and high speeds, and ability to operate in complex transport supply chains); flexible and abundant charging points for the rising number of vehicles must be implemented fast and to support this, novel charging concepts are needed. In addition, as multiple needs in the logistics chain exist, require novel tools for fleet managers providing them with better information on ZEV in logistic operation, providing a twin of the real use thereby giving valuable information regarding predictive maintenance, eco-driving etc., providing information on better logistics planning, the (available) charging and refuelling along the route, access to roads and traffic information. ZEFES major outcomes: Executing of real-world demonstrations of long-haul BEVs and FCEVs across Europe to take zero-emission long-haul goods transport in Europe to the next level. Pathway for long-haul BEVs and FCEVs to become more affordable and reliable, more energy efficient, with a longer range per single charge and reduced charging times able to meet the user’s needs. Technologies which can deliver promised benefits (easy handling, similar driving hours & charging/fueling, high speeds and ability to operate in complex transport supply chains). Mapping of flexible and abundant charging/fueling points and novel charging concepts. Novel tools for fleet management to support the rising number of long-haul BEVs and FCEVs vehicles in the logistics supply chains.

Energy storage is in high demand. The decarbonisation of industry through electrification, the growth of renewables as well as the need to ensure grid stability are major incentives to develop storage technologies. With this in mind, the EU-funded AGISTIN project will design advanced grid interface for energy storage solutions that minimise the impact of new, large demands on the grid and reduce costs for large grid users through innovative storage integration. The project will carry out two demonstrations and three test activities on renewable hydrogen electrolysis, irrigation pumping and fast electric vehicle charging. The innovative storage technologies include aqueous electrochemical recuperators, irrigation systems and aluminium ion batteries.

The close future arrival of next-generation electrolyser and fuel cell technologies is bound to revolutionise several industries. However, their supply chains remain unfinished and unplanned. This creates the potential of making those supply chains ecologically friendly. The EU-funded SUSTAINCELL project aims to achieve this goal by focusing on reducing the current dependency on critical raw materials and reducing emissions, costs and footprint of those supply chains. Further, they plan to introduce routes and technologies that will allow for improved supply chain flexibility and parts and materials that are more durable and sustainable.

Innovative powertrains for zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles: Truck transport is unavoidable. Unfortunately, heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) account for half of all greenhouse gas emissions. To find a solution, the EU-funded EMPOWER project will deliver two flexible, modular and scalable zero-emission HDVs belonging to the VECTO vehicle group 9 (6×2 rigid trucks). The first vehicle will be powered by a fuel cell system with a driving range of 750 km, and the second by a battery-electric powertrain with a driving range of 400 km. The project will design, implement and deliver technology bricks and demonstrate the driving range and real-world operation performance of the two zero-emission HDVs in five long-haul and regional distribution use cases.

Operating gas turbines on H2 gas rather than natural gas and other fossil fuels will support CO2-free power generation. The EU-funded FLEX4H2 project will further develop a proprietary combustion technology, known as constant pressure sequential combustion (CPSC), with tremendous potential for stable, clean operation using H2 mixed with natural gas at any concentration, up to 100 %. The CPSC technology has been deployed in the GT36 H-class engine developed by Ansaldo Energia. The project will optimise the technology combining computational and analytical methods with experimental test campaigns, demonstrating combustor operation with H2 concentrations of 70 %, 90 % and 100 % in an engine-relevant environment at world-class laboratories. AMON will be supported alongside the engineering by horizontal strategic support on critical and open issues involving use of ammonia with fuel cells, such as safety assessment, on techno-econmic analysis, on modelling at a multiscale and multiphysic levels, to consolidate, confirm and direct the engineering of the technology. Despite the small pilot demostration scale, AMON will propose a scaled engineering for a system suitable to be applied in end uses such as ports, interports, maritime environment, besides autonomous power systems. AMON will promote the use of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier, to enhance the flexibility of the energy system.

Hydrogen (H2) is considered the most promising zero-emission technology to reduce aviation’s climate impact by 2035, in line with the European Green Deal and Clean Aviation Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). In this context, the EU-funded HYDEA project proposes a robust and efficient technology maturation plan to develop an H2 propulsion system. The project will comprehensively demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen propulsion on an aircraft engine in a compacted timeframe (2023-2026) up to the ground test. HYDEA will address fundamental questions for hydrogen as an aviation fuel, including emission studies and technologies, and pave the way for the development and certification of new products integrating hydrogen technology.

We target a knowledge-based methodological entry to the finding of new generation electrode materials based on perovskites for reversible SOFC/SOEC technologies. The latter are archetypal complex systems: the physico-chemical processes at play involve surface electrochemical reactions, ionic diffusion, charge collection and conduction, which all occur timely within a very limited region. Hence, true in-depth understanding of the key parameters requires characterisation at the right place, at the right time frame and under the proper operating conditions. The price to pay for achieving this multiply-relevant characterisation is the involvement of non-trivial, advanced characterisation techniques. Multi-scale modelling will contribute to turn experimental datasets into a genuine scientific description and make time-saving predictions. In KNOWSKITE-X, the coupling between theoretical and experimental activities is made real by the choice of partners, who are all active in genuinely articulate theory and practice to understand active systems. To provide unifying concepts and to widen the project’s outcomes, intensive collaboration with knowledge discovery using machine-learning and deep learning methods is planned and AI-enabled tools will be used to compensate the smallness of relevant datasets. Such efforts are intended in view of building strong correlations capable of establishing robust composition-structure-activity-performance relations and hence, lead the way to knowledge-based predictions. By doing this, we also target the implementation of simplified testing protocols and tools operable by industrial stakeholders, which results can be augmented thanks to the knowledge-based pivotal correlations implemented during the project. To this end, dedicated efforts will be made in certifying the interoperability and usability of the project’s advances in the form of harmonised documentation and open science sharing.

Multiphase flows, fluid flows consisting of more than one phase, are ubiquitous in industry. They seem to be holding the key to the efficient design of electrification technologies for the transport sector, such as battery thermal management systems and proton exchange membrane fuel cells for innovative aviation propulsion systems. However, methods for optimising multiphase flows for industrial applications are lacking. Funded by the Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MFLOPS project aspires to develop coupled multiphase flow and optimisation methods, including adjoint methods, and apply them to cases specified by non-academic beneficiaries and partners.

The R&D project PEMTASTIC aims to meet the key technical challenges to increase durability of MEAs for HD applications. These challenges are approached with a combination of model-based design and the development of a durable CCM using innovative materials tailored for heavy duty operation at high temperature (105°C). The quantitative targets correspond to a durability of 20,000 hours maintaining a state-of the art power density of 1.2 W/cm2@0.65 V at a Pt loading of 0.30 g/kW. Truck mission profiles will be analyzed (Symbio) in order to define relevant FC operation protocols and stressors. Degradation tests will be carried out in differential cells and will be assisted by physical-chemical material characterization to assure well defined data required for parametrization of degradation models (CEA, DLR). A combination of micro- and mesoscale models as well as 1D and 2D cell models (ZHAW, DLR) will capture the impact of material parameters on performance and durability and will address all material and CCM parameters which will be iteratively adapted by industry partners. The materials which will be implemented and adapted are advanced corrosion resistant supports (Imerys) combined with a novel catalyst deposition technique (Heraeus) to mitigate for ECSA loss. Prototype Nafion ionomers and membranes with high conductivity in dry conditions will be used (Chemours). Eventually, an improved cathode catalyst layer will be designed considering Pt particle size distribution and superior catalyst ionomer interaction (IRD). The selection of a commercial GDL will consider accommodation of a wide range of operating conditions. The final MEA and the concept of model-based MEA development will be validated in a short stack at TRL4 (Symbio). As additional outcomes, implications on system management and on the BoP components will be drawn, and the reduced computational demand for degradation modelling will facilitate fast health assessment and performance prediction.

The TheMa4HERA project takes on the huge challenge of on-board thermal management that comes with the introduction of hybrid electric power and propulsion systems in Regional and Short and Medium Range aircraft. This will be achieved through development, design and testing at TRL 5 of wide range of innovative technologies from Air Supply, to Air Conditioning, Systems Thermal Management to Cabin Air Distribution. Whereas today’s thermal management systems need to handle a heat dissipation of about 35-50kW, tomorrow’s hybrid electric regional aircraft will have to handle heat dissipation in the range of 300 to 1.000kW! With a consortium composed out of all key aerospace players in the market of thermal management, this project will address almost all currently known thermal management technologies. Multiple two-way interactions loops with TRA-01 will be established integration requirements and feedback constraints and validation results, to allow for further aircraft architecture optimization iterations. Through the development of a full digital twin, the project will be able to simulate and optimize component level requirements for any given aircraft architecture. This architecture will be taken from the EXACT project, adjusted and refined throughout the project, to eventually reflect the final Hybrid Electric Aircraft architecture. The project will validate and demonstrate its results in a full-scale demonstration test facility at Fraunhofer IBP. With the further refined models, that will be available by then, the project will also be able to calculate the achievements towards the Expected Outcomes, in particular the environmental footprint. The Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation actions will make sure that all necessary stakeholders will also be supportive to the EIS of the first Hybrid Electric Regional Aircraft relying on TheMa4HERA thermal management technologies.

Biogas derived from organic waste can be used to produce biomethane that is chemically equivalent to natural gas (methane) and can be easily transported and distributed in existing networks. Biomethane is a renewable alternative to increasingly expensive natural gas derived from fossil fuels, but current biomethane production technologies face challenges and need to be diversified. The EU-funded HYFUELUP project will demonstrate a flexible pathway for efficient and cost-effective biomethane production through thermochemical technologies combined with renewable hydrogen. One demonstrator will convert biomass feedstocks to syngas (a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide) and "clean" it. A second will employ dynamic hydrogen addition for methanation of the syngas (or flue gas). These will be integrated to demonstrate biomethane production at pre-commercial scale. - Develop a concept for real?time sharing of safety intelligence to support decision making on safety issues, emergencies and crises; - Develop safety risk models and analyse safety data for prediction and prevention of emerging and future hazards in aviation (linked to Data4Safety); - Develop survivability measures to mitigate safety issues and risks; - Assess and improve human performance and develop best practices for decision making in the handling of crises and emergency situations; - Validate and demonstrate concepts, technologies and decision support tools (exercises at airports, simulations and laboratory tests conducted in close collaboration with EACCC, GADSS and ACI-Europe); - Disseminate, communicate, and exploit project key results and outcomes (including through emergency response training & exercises). ALBATROS will work on maturing technologies and solutions up to TRL6 which will be compatible with EACCC and GADSS requirements. Initially, scenarios, requirements, concepts of use and relevant technologies will be agreed upon, before development activities are performed on safety modelling and data analysis, survivability as well as decision support tools and best practices. The results of these developments will then be integrated and validated through 15 demonstrations in relevant environments across Europe (airports, flight simulators or crisis centres). Water splitting for H2 production driven by solar energy is quite attractive while the current efficiency is very moderate due to both the extremely sluggish water oxidation half reaction and limited light harvesting (mostly UV-visible light). In addition, the separation of one product H2 from the other O2 during water splitting is very costly. The project is designed to address these challenges by i) utilizing the full solar spectrum (300-2500nm) instead of UV-visible light (300-700nm), ii) coupling water splitting with biomass-derivative oxidation to avoid water oxidation, iii) well combining solid Z-scheme UV-visible photocatalysis and Infrared-driven thermal catalysis, and iv) using a flow double tube reactor other than batch reactors, thus targeting to produce green H2 from both water and biomass with a high quantum yield of 60% . Furthermore the project will co-produce high-value chemicals with a high selectivity of >90%. In addition, the integration of low-cost and efficient catalysts with novel flow reactors will assure a continuous and efficient production of H2 and high-value chemicals. The entire process does not use fossil fuels nor produce CO2, thus a zero carbon-emission technology. Finally the system can be readily scaled up by numbering up the reactor modules. All these are built upon a multidisciplinary and international consortium with the global experts in photocatalysis, thermal catalysis, reactor engineering, product separation, simulation and social science. Therefore the scientific and technical challenges, as well as the environmental, societal and economic impacts will be fully addressed in the project. The proposed technology will typically benefit the EU economy by an innovative green H2 production process from water and biomass, heavily contributing to a low carbon society. In addition, the international team including members from Asia will facilitate the technology exploitation out of the EU, to further benefit the EU economy.