Funding call: Green hydrogen research cooperation with Japan

Germany and Japan are both pursuing ambitious objectives with regard to the decarbonization of industry and society, and hydrogen research with scalable applications plays a key role in this effort. Both countries also have an internationally competitive research and development landscape in the field of hydrogen with great potential for cooperation.

The funding call on cooperation with this Asian partner country is issued under the announcement of regulations for funding international projects on the topic of green hydrogen and addresses Module C: international collaborative research projects with partners from science and industry (2+2). You can download a PDF version of the full announcement including all modules under “Publications” in the navigation panel on the right.

Joint research projects should focus in particular on efficient and sustainable materials for hydrogen technologies and environmentally friendly propulsion systems for maritime transport. Additional potential fields of cooperation between the partner countries include the development of highly efficient synthetic fuels, research on and analysis of combustion processes as well as the design and analysis of new combustion systems, and innovations on highly efficient fuel cells for maritime propulsion.

The aim is to establish lasting international knowledge and innovation networks and enable market access for German industry through the exchange of knowledge and joint developments.

Thematic priorities of the funding

Under this call, funding will be provided for collaborative research projects which address the following topics:

1. Efficient and sustainable materials for hydrogen technologies; especially novel and innovative approaches for identifying suitable materials including life-cycle assessment
2. Sustainable propulsion systems for maritime transport based on green hydrogen technologies
   • Innovative and highly efficient synthetic fuels based on green hydrogen: synthesis, chemical processes  and concepts for utilization including unconventional synthesis routes such as green ammonia as fuel
   • Research on and analysis of combustion processes using tools such as artificial intelligence, numerical analyses and fluid dynamics with particular regard to the development processes described under topic 1
   • Design and analysis of novel combustion systems
   • Innovations on highly efficient fuel cells for maritime propulsion

Socioeconomic analyses related to the topics or sub-topics mentioned above are welcome.

Amount and duration of possible funding

Funding will be awarded as non-repayable project grants. On the German side, a maximum amount of €600,000 will be provided per collaborative project for a period of up to 36 months.

The deadline for application is 10 September 2021.

Interested researchers can submit project outlines in digital form by 10 September at the latest (first phase of the procedure).

Applicants from Germany are required to send their project outlines to:
Dr Ludwig Kammesheidt
DLR Project Management Agency, European and International Cooperation
Phone: +49 228 - 38 21-1729
Fax: +49 228 - 38 21-1444
Email: ludwig.kammesheidt@dlr.de

Applicants from the partner country Japan must address their funding application to the:

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

The contact persons at JST are Mr Masayoshi Higuchi and Mr Norihito Matsumoto (email: jointge@jst.go.jp).

The announcement will be published shortly after the German funding call on the JST website.