This competition will support development expenditure (DEVEX) costs for front end engineering design (FEED) and post-FEED studies. The aim is to build the pipeline of hydrogen production projects and measurably move them closer to deployment. This competition supports multiple hydrogen production pathways.
The aim of the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund (NZHF) is to provide capital expenditure (CAPEX) and development expenditure (DEVEX). This will support the commercial deployment of new low carbon hydrogen production projects during the 2020s.
This is to ensure the UK has a diverse and secure decarbonised energy system fit for meeting our ambition of up to 10GW low carbon hydrogen production by 2030, and commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
The NZHF will deliver up to £240 million via four strands as follows:
Strand 1: Development expenditure (DEVEX) support for front end engineering design (FEED) and post-FEED studies, to grow the future pipeline of hydrogen projects in the UK (this strand).
Strand 2: Capital expenditure (CAPEX) for projects that do not require a hydrogen specific business model. These are low carbon hydrogen projects that can deploy on the basis of capital expenditure support and are able to start construction rapidly.
Strand 3: CAPEX for projects that require a Hydrogen production business model and sit outside of the Phase 2 cluster sequencing process.
Strand 4: CAPEX for carbon capture usage and storage (CCUS) enabled projects that require a hydrogen specific business model and are part of the Phase 2 cluster sequencing process.
This competition relates to Strand 1 (Round 2) only.
Your proposal for this strand must demonstrate how you will develop a credible project that will contribute to the at-scale production of low carbon hydrogen by 2025. Funded projects must support the delivery of the 10GW production ambition by 2030 set out in the Energy Security Strategy.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that they are entering the appropriate competition strand for their project.
You will not be able to transfer your application between strands and it will not be sent for assessment if it is out of scope.
In applying to this competition, you are entering into a competitive process. This competition closes at 11 am UK time on the deadline stated.
We reserve the right to cancel the competition and amend or vary the competition processes, including any envisaged stage and any document issued pursuant to it, at any point and for any reason.
Eligibility
Your project
Your project must:
If your total grant funding request or duration falls outside of our eligibility criteria, you must provide justification by email to support@iuk.ukri.org at least 20 working days before the competition closes. We will decide whether to approve your request.
If you have not requested approval or your application has not been approved by us, you will be made ineligible and your application will not be sent for assessment.
Lead organisation
To lead a project or work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size.
You will not be permitted to change your company structure or the lead organisation after you have submitted your application. Doing so may disqualify you from the competition.
Academic institutions, research and technology organisations (RTOs), public sector organisations or charities cannot lead or work alone.
More information on the different types of organisation can be found in our Funding rules.
Project team
To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:
Each partner organisation must be invited into the Innovation Funding Service by the lead to collaborate on a project. Once accepted, partners will be asked to login or to create an account and enter their own project costs into the Innovation Funding Service.
Non-funded partners
Your project can include partners that do not receive any of this competition’s funding, for example non-UK businesses. Their costs will count towards the total project costs.
Subcontractors
Subcontractors are allowed in this competition.
Subcontractors can be from anywhere in the UK and overseas.
All subcontractor costs must be justified and appropriate to the total project costs.
Number of applications
In this strand a business can lead on up to 2 applications, which must be materially different, and can be included as a collaborator in a further 2 applications.
An academic institution, research and technology organisation (RTO), charity, not for profit or public sector organisation can collaborate on any number of applications.
This competition will support development expenditure (DEVEX) costs for front end engineering design (FEED) and post-FEED studies. The aim is to build the pipeline of hydrogen production projects and measurably move them closer to deployment.
This competition supports the following hydrogen production pathways as listed in the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard Version 2 (LCHS v2):
If a CCUS-enabled project is unable to access a track-1 or track 2 cluster, including any expanded track-1 clusters, then we will reserve the right to reject their application on the basis that the project does not have a clear route to market.
Your project must address low carbon hydrogen production opportunities and must focus on FEED studies, post-FEED studies or both.
FEED studies can include:
Post-FEED and pre-final investment decision (pre-FID) studies can include:
These lists are not exhaustive.
Hydrogen production projects will be able to apply for co-funding through this strand if they require DEVEX support for the cost of front-end engineering design (FEED), post-FEED expenditures, or both. Where appropriate, support will also be available for FEED and post-FEED costs for associated on-site transport and storage infrastructure.
Portfolio approach
We want to fund a portfolio of projects, across this competition, based on:
This will support the twin-track approach to hydrogen production as outlined in the UK Hydrogen Strategy.
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