Net Zero Hydrogen Fund: Strand 1 Development Expenditure Round 2

Fund details

This competition supports the following hydrogen production pathways as listed in the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard Version 2 (LCHS v2):

• electrolysis
• natural gas reforming, with carbon capture and storage (CCUS)
• biomass or waste conversion to hydrogen, with or without CCUS

If a CCUS-enabled project is unable to access a track-1 or track-2 cluster, including any expanded track-1 clusters, then Innovate UK will reserve the right to reject the 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:

• equipment definition, for example, equipment data sheets, specifications
• equipment pricing, for example, bid lists, bid packages
• plant layout and model, for example, plot plan
• material quantification, for example, material take-off, physical drawings
• engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and execution planning, for example, EPC schedule, contract plan
• cost estimation, for example, capital costs, operating costs
• commercial proposal, for example, cost, schedule, and performance guarantees
• environmental impacts and mitigation

Post-FEED and pre-final investment decision (pre-FID) studies can include:

• refinement of the outputs of FEED, particularly the cost estimates
• planning applications

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

Innovate UK want to fund a portfolio of projects, across this competition, based on:

• geographical location
• project scale and replicability
• project cost and funding available
• project timescales
• hydrogen production technology type
• hydrogen production commercial readiness
• alignment with and contribution to wider cross-economy decarbonisation
• environmental impacts
• use of additional low-carbon electricity
• affordability considerations, for example, the longer-term cost to the taxpayer
• projects awarded funding through related BEIS and UKRI competitions
• off-taker type
• additionality of electricity and wider system benefits

This will support the twin-track approach to hydrogen production as outlined in the UK Hydrogen Strategy.

Innovate UK will not fund projects that:

• do not focus on low carbon hydrogen production at scale and the immediate supply chains
• produce hydrogen that is not compliant with thlow-carbonon hydrogen standard
• have total grant requests or timescales outside the specified range and have not been approved in advance by Innovate UK

Eligibility

Your project must:

• have a total grant request of between £80,000 and £10 million
• start by 1 November 2023
• end by 31 March 2025
• last between 6 and 17 months
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK and be able to demonstrate relevant commercial engagement
• be using core technology that has been tested in a commercial environment, Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 or more
• meet the Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard Version 2 (LCHS v2)

Up to £45 million is available for projects across strands 1 and 2 for this round of the competition. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

Talk to us today if you would like to apply for this opportunity.