Innovative business models advancing renewable electrolysis integration in industry

This grant aims to design and validate innovative business models for the integration of renewable hydrogen, produced via electrolysis, into industry. The focus is on overcoming economic, contractual, and financial bottlenecks that currently hinder large-scale adoption. The objective is to accelerate the financial maturity, investment-readiness, and replication of successful models for industrial hydrogen integration, supporting the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors, enhancing competitiveness, and attracting private investment throughout Europe.

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Agency	HORIZON (EU)
Region	EU
Country	N/A
Legal form	Company, NGO, Government organization, Other
Start date	10 Feb 2026
End date	15 Apr 2026
Max funding	EUR 1.5 million
Budget	EUR 105 million allocated for the Clean Hydrogen JU 2026 call; this topic expects to fund one project up to EUR 1.5 million.
Coverage	Lump sum funding. Rate and coverage depend on cost types per Horizon Europe rules; check call-specific provisions.

Grant application conditions

Admissibility Conditions	Proposal must comply with page limits and layout defined in the Application Form (max 70 pages for Innovation Actions).
Eligible Countries	EU Member States and Associated Countries are eligible. See Horizon Europe Programme Guide for specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries.
Consortium Requirements	Consortium must include the necessary mix of industrial developers/offtakers, technology providers, finance and legal experts, and digital optimization specialists. For certain topics, at least one partner must be a member of Hydrogen Europe or Hydrogen Europe Research. This applies to topics focused on large-scale demonstrations, flagships, and strategic research.
Eligible Activities	Business model innovation as primary focus. Mandatory application to at least one real industrial case with bankability check. Replication and transferability guidance for business models.
Financial and operational capacity	Applicants must have stable and sufficient resources to maintain their activity throughout the project duration and comply with exclusion criteria described in Annex C (Horizon Europe).
Maximum Clean Hydrogen JU Contribution	The maximum Clean Hydrogen JU requested contribution is EUR 1.5 million for this topic.
Subcontracting	Subcontracted work must be performed in eligible countries (EU Member States and Associated Countries).
Legal and Financial Set-Up	Funding is in the form of a lump sum defined by the Horizon Europe regulations. Full capitalised costs for purchases of equipment, infrastructure or other assets purchased specifically for the action are not eligible.
Intellectual Property Rights	Beneficiaries must, up to 4 years after project end, inform the granting authority if results could reasonably contribute to European/international standards (for topics including standardisation activities).
Documentation	https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunities/topic-details/HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-01-04

Eligible expenses

Evaluation criteria

Business exclusions

Reporting

Application process

Application requirements