Affordable, Safe and Sustainable aboveground medium to large GH2 storage

The grant opportunity HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-02-01 is part of the Horizon Europe program and aims to advance the development of affordable, safe, and sustainable compressed hydrogen storage systems. It invites proposals for projects that focus on creating low-cost, innovative materials and tank designs for hydrogen storage, particularly in decentralized locations and industrial clusters. The maximum funding available is €4 million per project, with a total budget of €105 million across all 2026 Clean Hydrogen topics.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, large companies, and public-private partnerships, all of which must collaborate in a consortium of at least three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries. The application process operates as a single-stage call, with proposals due between February 10, 2026, and April 15, 2026.

The projects should start at Technology Readiness Level 3 and achieve TRL 5 by project completion. This involves enhancing the durability and safety of hydrogen storage systems, aiming for a 30% increase in fatigue life and a 25% reduction in carbon footprint compared to existing designs. Specific goals include improving material properties, ensuring safety under various conditions, and implementing recycling and circular economy principles.

Proposals should address the technical aspects of hydrogen storage solutions, such as advanced materials, fire safety features, and comprehensive testing protocols, while also adhering to EU standards for safety and performance. The grant represents a significant investment in overcoming barriers to hydrogen infrastructure deployment, ultimately supporting Europe's decarbonization goals.

This EU funding opportunity, under the Horizon Europe program and the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (JU), aims to foster the development and validation of affordable, safe, and sustainable aboveground compressed hydrogen storage systems. The call, HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-02-01, falls under the HORIZON-JU-RIA (Research and Innovation Actions) category. The goal is to improve energy system flexibility, grid resilience, and the integration of variable renewable energy sources by enabling fossil-free energy supply in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize.

The expected outcomes of funded projects include:

Improved understanding of materials: Validated data on the mechanical and chemical degradation behavior of advanced low-cost materials suitable for compressed gas storage. Examples of materials include hydrogen-compatible steels, nanoparticle-reinforced aluminum alloys, metal matrix composite liners, and multi-layer coatings.

Advanced design methodologies: Development and application of design and assessment methodologies that capture degradation mechanisms under hydrogen service over short, medium, and long terms (20-30 years). These methodologies should support reliable and cost-effective storage solutions.

Circular economy integration: Incorporation of circular economy principles through the use of recyclable and low-carbon materials, modular storage designs for component reuse, and energy-efficient manufacturing processes.

Affordable and safe storage systems: Delivery of compressed gas hydrogen storage systems that are affordable, safe, modular, deployable, easily serviceable, and operable in decentralized hydrogen hubs. These hubs should support H2 refueling stations, large H2 feedstocks, and industrial clusters.

Demonstrated improvements: Measurable improvements over state-of-the-art technologies, such as reduced material cost, improved safety, extended fatigue life, and lower hydrogen permeability.

Harmonized standards: Contribution to harmonized EU safety and performance standards for compressed gas storage, including validated operational envelopes for medium to large tank capacities (5-20 tonnes per module).

Breakthrough fire safety features: Incorporation of novel tank designs that enable self-venting behavior, reducing the risk of catastrophic failure, even under extreme conditions.

Digital design tools: Provision of digital design tools and modular frameworks that enable adaptation of compressed gas storage solutions across various regional, climatic, and industrial contexts in Europe. The projects should also deliver recommendations for future design standards to ensure safety, interoperability, and harmonization across the EU market.

The scope of this topic involves developing and validating low-cost, advanced hydrogen-compatible materials and tank architectures for aboveground compressed hydrogen storage. The storage units should be modular or containerized, with sizes ranging from 5 to 20 tonnes. Proposed solutions must demonstrate:

Improved material resilience against hydrogen-induced degradation.

A ≥30% increase in fatigue life, from <5,000 cycles to ≥6,500 cycles at 700 bar.

Enhanced performance across varying environmental conditions, with a temperature range of –40 °C to +60 °C.

Suitable materials include high-strength steels, fiber/nanoparticle-reinforced composites, metal-matrix composites, and multi-layer coatings with low hydrogen permeability.

Projects should prioritize:

Recycled or low-carbon footprint materials.

Energy-efficient processing techniques like friction stir welding and heat treatment.

Designs enabling ≥70% recyclability.

A ≥25% reduction in embodied CO₂ (baseline: 15–18 kg CO₂/kg H₂ stored).

Validated digital design tools, fatigue/fracture models, and AI-enabled tank material design and optimization should support predictive low-cost manufacturing, maintenance, and safety optimization. Storage systems should target a CAPEX of ≤ 450 €/kg H₂ stored and exhibit long-term structural integrity under ≥6,500 pressure cycles.

Validated multi-physics simulations should account for fracture, permeability, fire safety, and delivery pressure loss, complemented by lab-scale and pilot-scale testing. Outcomes should support the Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) sharing of mechanical performance data and demonstrate pathways toward scalable deployment in Hydrogen Valleys and industrial hubs.

To address the identified gaps, proposals should:

Generate new knowledge on the mechanical performance of low-cost compressed hydrogen storage solutions under low-cycle fatigue and pressure variations in hydrogen environments, using simulation-driven models validated by lab testing.

Investigate degradation mechanisms such as permeability loss, embrittlement, corrosion, and material cracking, emphasizing hydrogen purity monitoring.

Assess and optimize the structural performance of various tank types using recycled materials, tanks with liners and coatings, and develop standardized acceptance testing protocols.

Ensure safety provisions to exclude tank rupture, long jet flames, and flammable cloud formation.

Incorporate fire safety provisions such as self-venting behavior in novel tank architectures.

Design high-performance foundation and support structures to ensure even load distribution and minimize stress concentrations.

Generate knowledge on the influence of environmental and operational conditions on the durability and safety of storage systems using advanced simulations and modeling techniques.

Develop preliminary guidelines for material and weld design in hydrogen-exposed tanks and propose a standardized design framework.

Investigate advanced real-time monitoring technologies integrating embedded sensors, non-destructive testing, and Generative AI analytics to detect strain, leakage, and degradation.

Validate the design through comprehensive simulation and physical testing, using coupled mechanical, thermal, and hydrogen interaction models.

Develop a physical proof of concept (PoC) to assess the impact of cyclic hydrogen pressurization on key components, informed by lab-scale testing and full-system simulations.

Evaluate how storage materials and configurations affect hydrogen purity per ISO 14687.

Publicly share validated mechanical performance data following FAIR principles, embedding recyclability and circularity for sustainable, cost-effective hydrogen storage system design.

The project activities are expected to start at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 and reach TRL 5 by the project's end. The Clean Hydrogen JU estimates a maximum EU contribution of EUR 4.00 million for this topic.

General conditions for participation include:

Admissibility Conditions: Compliance with proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form. The page limit for Innovation Actions is 70 pages.

Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. Specific provisions may apply to non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.

Other Eligible Conditions: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Financial and Operational Capacity and Exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and Award: The award criteria, scoring, thresholds, submission, and evaluation processes are detailed in Annexes D and F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.

Indicative Timeline: The timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Legal and Financial Set-up: Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Specific provisions in the model grant agreement include:

Lump Sum Funding: All topics in Call 2026 will use lump sum contributions.

Subcontracting: Subcontracted work must be performed in EU Member States or Associated Countries.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): Beneficiaries involved in standardisation activities must inform the granting authority if their results could contribute to European or international standards, up to 4 years after the action's end.

Applicants should consult the Clean Hydrogen JU 2026 Annual Work Programme and the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) for further details.

This funding opportunity aims to advance hydrogen storage technology by supporting projects that develop and validate innovative materials and designs for aboveground compressed hydrogen storage. The focus is on creating systems that are not only cost-effective and safe but also environmentally sustainable and adaptable to various European contexts. By addressing key challenges in material degradation, safety, and recyclability, the projects are expected to contribute significantly to the deployment of hydrogen technologies and the establishment of Hydrogen Valleys across Europe. The call encourages collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the development of standardized guidelines to ensure the widespread adoption of safe and efficient hydrogen storage solutions.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call is open to a variety of applicants, including but not limited to research organizations, universities, SMEs, large enterprises, and other relevant stakeholders, provided they meet the eligibility criteria outlined in Annex B of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes. Membership to Hydrogen Europe or Hydrogen Europe Research may be required for certain topics.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically a HORIZON JU Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-JU-RIA) or HORIZON JU Innovation Action (HORIZON-JU-IA) or HORIZON JU Coordination and Support Actions (HORIZON-JU-CSA) with eligible costs taking the form of a lump sum contribution.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity appears to require a consortium of multiple applicants, as evidenced by the partner search announcements and the emphasis on collaboration, although single applicants are not explicitly excluded. For some topics, one partner in the consortium must be a member of either Hydrogen Europe or Hydrogen Europe Research.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The target countries for subcontracting are all Member States of the European Union and all Associated Countries. Non-EU/non-Associated Countries may also be eligible if they have made specific provisions for funding in Horizon Europe projects.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is cleantech, specifically focusing on hydrogen storage technologies. This includes advanced materials, energy, and innovation within the hydrogen economy.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions Member States of the European Union and Associated Countries as target countries for subcontracting. It also refers to non-EU/non-Associated Countries that have made specific provisions for funding in Horizon Europe projects.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of projects should start at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 and achieve TRL 5 by the end of the project.

Funding Amount: The EU contribution is estimated to be a maximum of EUR 4.00 million per project for the topic HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-02-01. Other topics in the call HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026 have different maximum contribution amounts, ranging from EUR 1.5 million to EUR 17 million.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding may be required, especially for actions performed at high TRL levels with demonstration in real operational environments. For Hydrogen Valleys topics, a large amount of co-investment/co-funding of project participants/beneficiaries including national and regional programmes is expected.

Summary:

This opportunity, HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-02-01, is a call for proposals under the Horizon Europe program, specifically targeting research and innovation in affordable, safe, and sustainable aboveground medium to large gaseous hydrogen (GH2) storage. The Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (JU) is seeking projects that can develop and validate low-cost, advanced hydrogen-compatible materials and tank architectures for compressed hydrogen storage systems, with a capacity of 5 to 20 tonnes. The goal is to improve material resilience, increase fatigue life, enhance performance across varying environmental conditions, and promote recyclability and circularity in hydrogen storage system design.

The projects should aim to start at TRL 3 and reach TRL 5 by completion, with a maximum EU contribution of EUR 4.00 million per project for this specific topic. The call is open to a consortium of applicants from EU Member States and Associated Countries, with subcontracting limited to these countries. Membership in Hydrogen Europe or Hydrogen Europe Research may be required for certain related topics in the call. The application process involves a single-stage submission, with a deadline of April 15, 2026. The funding will be provided as a lump sum grant, and projects are expected to contribute to harmonized EU safety and performance standards for compressed gas storage. The call aims to support the deployment of hydrogen storage solutions in decentralized hydrogen hubs, Hydrogen Valleys, and industrial clusters, contributing to the overall decarbonization of Europe’s energy system.