Answer given by Ms Ivanova on behalf of the European Commission
27.3.2024
1. Clean Energy from Hydrogen-Metal Systems (CleanHME)[1] is a project that was selected for funding under Horizon 2020[2] during the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) pilot phase[3].
The EIC cannot ensure the automatic renewal of any project given the high level of scientific and technical competition and the strict selection process in place. However, CleanHME is eligible to submit proposals to the EIC Transition scheme[4] as it was funded under the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Proactive scheme in Horizon 2020[5].
2. CleanHME has currently entered its last year of implementation with most of the very ambitious research objectives yet to be achieved. The already reported scientific results are published in scientific journals and are shared with the scientific community, following the open access practices required by the Commission.
Within the EIC Work Programme[6], the EIC Transition grant scheme was introduced to bridge the gap between research and the market. It aims at supporting innovation activities that go beyond the experimental proof of principle in laboratory. Moreover, if CleanHME has created a spin-off or a small- and medium-sized enterprise and is in the process to scale up, it can submit a proposal to the EIC accelerator call.
3. The EIC is supporting technological innovations and their transfer towards the market. All EIC projects reaching technology readiness level (TRL) 3[7] or TRL 4[8] and beyond, are given the possibility to pursue further requests for funding through the transition and acceleration funding schemes.
- [1] https://www.cleanhme.eu/
- [2] https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-2020_en
- [3] Call H2020-EIC-FETPROACT-2019. The project started in August 2020 with a duration of 54 months and was granted the amount of EUR 5 509 447 to support its innovative approach of green, high and stable energy production.
- [4] https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-transition_en
- [5] https://www.h2020.md/en/content/future-and-emerging-technologies
- [6] https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-2024-work-programme_en
- [7] Experimental proof of concept.
- [8] Technology validated in laboratory.