Innovative business models advancing renewable electrolysis integration in industry

The funding opportunity, HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-01-04, focuses on innovative business models that advance the integration of renewable electrolysis in industry. This initiative falls under the Horizon Europe program and is managed by the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (JU). Proposals are expected to address the economic and financial barriers faced by clean hydrogen technologies in energy-intensive sectors.

Eligible applicants must form consortia comprising diverse stakeholders such as industrial developers, technology providers, financial experts, and legal advisors. A minimum of three independent legal entities from different EU Member States or Associated Countries is required. The maximum funding amount available for each project is EUR 1.50 million, structured as a lump sum grant.

The call is open from 10 February 2026, with a submission deadline of 15 April 2026. Projects should focus on business model innovation rather than solely technology development, aiming to create commercially viable pathways for renewable hydrogen integration in industries like steel, chemicals, ammonia, and methanol production. Key components of the proposals should include analysis of successful and unsuccessful hydrogen projects, innovative revenue models, techno-economic optimization, and policy frameworks.

Successful projects will produce outputs including a European White Paper on hydrogen project success and failure, a Business Model Innovation Compendium, and bankability assessments relevant to at least one industrial application. Activities might involve real-world case studies, engagement with stakeholders, and sharing results through established sectorial collaboration hubs.

This initiative aims to facilitate the commercialization of renewable hydrogen by improving its investment readiness, thereby positioning Europe as a leader in industrial decarbonization.

The funding opportunity is HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-01-04, titled "Innovative business models advancing renewable electrolysis integration in industry". It falls under the Horizon Europe (HORIZON) program and the HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026 call. The action type is HORIZON-JU-CSA, which stands for HORIZON JU Coordination and Support Actions. The Model Grant Agreement (MGA) type is HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS].

The deadline model is single-stage. The planned opening date is 10 February 2026, and the deadline date is 15 April 2026, 17:00:00 Brussels time. The estimated EU contribution is EUR 1.50 million.

The expected outcome of this topic is to address the challenges related to the cost competitiveness and financial viability of renewable hydrogen integration in energy-intensive and hard-to-abate industrial sectors. The goal is to establish renewable hydrogen as a commercially viable feedstock, reducing agent, and energy vector by 2030, enhancing its sustainability and positioning Europe as a leader in industrial decarbonisation. The topic aims to design and validate innovative business models for industrial renewable hydrogen integration and to check their bankability through financial, contractual, and policy analysis.

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

Accelerated financial maturity of hydrogen integration in industry through innovative business model solutions, including diversified revenue streams, new ownership/licensing/service arrangements, and variable-revenue schemes.

Improvements and validation of investment-readiness by checking the bankability of these models against financial, contractual, and policy criteria.

Advanced maturity of developers, investors, and policymakers with evidence-based recommendations, drawing lessons from both successful and failed projects.

Facilitated replication and EU-wide applicability through guidance on how business model archetypes can be transferred to other clean hydrogen production routes.

EU-wide diffused knowledge through tangible publicly available results and materials for uptake, including an innovation compendium, open modeling templates, simplified contractual checklists (e.g., Power Purchase Agreements/PPAs, Hydrogen Purchase Agreements/HPAs), and policy briefs.

Project results should contribute to the objectives and KPIs of the Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA, specifically:

Reduction of Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) at end-use.

Increase of the volume of total clean hydrogen consumed in industrial applications.

The scope of the proposals should center on business model innovation for renewable electrolysis integration in industry, including Power-to-X applications, while validating their feasibility in at least one real industrial case.

Activities should include:

Forensic and business case learnings: A structured review of successful and failed projects across the EU and associated countries, creating a database of known-anonymized FID outcomes, mapping root causes of failure, and critical success conditions, with a risk typology by sector.

Business model design: Exploration of new archetypes such as:

Revenue diversification (valorization of co-products, participation in grid/system service markets, guarantees of origin, carbon credits).

Innovative commercial and ownership structures (licensing, leasing, tolling, electrolysis-as-a-service, Special Purpose Vehicles/SPVs, Public-Private Partnerships/PPPs, Joint Ventures).

Variable revenue schemes (dynamic/indexed PPAs, performance-based HPAs, bundled hydrogen + co-product sales).

Distribution of responsibilities among actors in Engineering, Procurement and Construction (Management)/EPC(M) with implications for cost, risk, and timing.

Techno-economic optimization tools: Use advanced software-based methods and algorithms to achieve techno-economic optimization, with the goal of reducing LCOH and increasing overall value. The scope covers optimization of sizing, flexibility strategies, grid services, coordination between hydrogen production and consumption units, and valorization of side products such as oxygen and heat. Including the business models schemes designed during the project and finding optimal scenarios among the uncertainty of market offtakes, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) pricing trajectories or raw materials cost evolutions may lead to target specific models and algorithms development activities.

Bankability stress-test: Simplified financial and contractual analysis, including indicative checklists and templates (PPA/HPA clauses, co-product annexes, risk-sharing examples) and sensitivity modeling to check the investment-readiness of the proposed business models.

Policy and support framework: Concise mapping of EU and national support schemes (including cumulation and cross-border rules), with recommendations for better alignment of national markets within EU instruments, updated during the project lifetime.

Sustainability and circularity: LCA/LCCA templates, sustainable water supply, reduction of water/energy consumption, recyclability and eco-design, hydrogen safety. Existing work on LCA, e.g., the JRC LCA checklist, should be appropriately considered.

Application to real cases: At least one real industrial case is mandatory. The consortium shall apply its business model innovations to this case and check their bankability through simplified investment-readiness analysis. A second case may be included for comparative illustration, but only one full assessment is expected. If relevant, real-life tests may be carried out on an existing site to generate data for the techno-economic analysis. However, operating and equipment costs for running these tests are not eligible.

Replication and future complementarity: Guidance on replicability of business models across other clean hydrogen production routes (in line with the SRIA), and structured input for potential future EU tenders or studies specifically targeting detailed bankability frameworks.

Projects are expected to produce key outputs on the following topics:

Set-up and animate a project legacy Forum to be connected to relevant existing ones (if any) to bring together an extended community, including all the needed stakeholders (including e.g. institutional investors, regulatory bodies, financial institutions). This platform should also be the display and discussion ground for the projects results as described below.

European White Paper on success and failure factors in industrial hydrogen projects, including critical lessons learned and practical “dos and don’ts” for developers, investors and policymakers within the first year of project.

Business Model Innovation Compendium, showcasing innovative approach to ownership, licensing and service models, variable revenue schemes and digital tailored optimization tools, with guidance for replication across sectors.

Open-source parametric economic model pack, including documentation and sensitivity templates to assess investment-readiness of business models.

Bankability Assessment for at least one real site, presenting results of simplified stress-tests, sensitivity analysis and indicative contractual/financial examples, accompanied by a short replication guide.

Policy outputs, including concise briefs on state-aid, cumulation and permitting, as well as structured input for potential future EU tenders or studies focusing on detailed bankability frameworks.

The definition of projects as good candidates for a pipeline that could benefit from the application of the results

Projects should build on prior, and find synergies with new, Clean Hydrogen JU projects and/or Process4Planet, Clean Steel partnerships and Innovation Fund initiatives. Proposals should also collaborate as relevant with the Hydrogen Valleys supported by the Clean Hydrogen JU, including those benefiting from the project development assistance provided by the Hydrogen Valleys Facility.

The industrial case(s) chosen by consortia may rely on new electrolysis plant components (including compression, heat exchange, purification, cooling, controllers, gas separation, power electronics, and storages), or existing ones (improved, revamped).

Purchase of equipment, infrastructure, or other assets used for the action are excluded from the eligible costs.

Consortia should include the necessary mix (by size, expertise, and value-chain role) of industrial developers/offtakers, technology providers, financial/state-aid/economic expertise, legal/regulatory experts, digital optimization, and business-model solutions. Consortia are invited to propose, build, and animate relevant sectorial Collaboration Hubs involving banks, insurers, regulators, promoters, and other primary stakeholders to collaborate and co-create on the long term even outside the scope of the project (e.g., yearly meeting events).

The proposal page limits and layout are described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System. The page limit for Innovation Actions is 70 pages.

Eligible countries are described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes. A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.

Financial and operational capacity and exclusion are described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Evaluation and award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes. Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual. The indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement is described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.

Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

An additional information obligation has been introduced for topics including standardisation activities: ‘Beneficiaries must, up to 4 years after the end of the action, inform the granting authority if the results could reasonably be expected to contribute to European or international standards’.

Application form templates are available in the Submission System.

This funding opportunity aims to foster innovative business models for integrating renewable hydrogen into industrial processes. It seeks to overcome financial and contractual barriers that currently hinder the deployment of hydrogen technologies. By supporting projects that design, validate, and assess the bankability of new business models, the initiative aims to accelerate the financial maturity of hydrogen integration, improve investment readiness, and provide evidence-based recommendations for developers, investors, and policymakers. The ultimate goal is to promote the widespread adoption of renewable hydrogen, contributing to the decarbonization of energy-intensive industries and strengthening Europe's leadership in the clean energy transition.

Eligible Applicant Types: The call specifies that consortia should include a necessary mix of industrial developers/offtakers, technology providers, financial/state-aid/economic expertise, legal/regulatory experts, digital optimisation and business-model solutions. This suggests that eligible applicants could include, but are not limited to, large enterprises, SMEs, research institutes, and potentially consulting firms or other entities providing specialized expertise. The call also mentions the need for collaboration hubs involving banks, insurers, regulators, and promoters, implying that these types of organizations could also be involved, although perhaps not as direct applicants.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically a lump sum grant under the Horizon Europe Programme.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a consortium of multiple applicants. The call explicitly states that consortia should include a necessary mix of various types of expertise and value-chain roles.

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

Target Sector: The program targets the renewable hydrogen sector, specifically focusing on its integration into energy-intensive and hard-to-abate industrial sectors such as steel, chemicals, ammonia, methanol, and petrochemicals. It also addresses Power-to-X applications. The program also targets business model innovation, finance, and policy related to hydrogen deployment.

Mentioned Countries: The call mentions Member States of the European Union and Associated Countries as target countries for subcontracting. It also refers to projects across the EU and associated countries.

Project Stage: The project stage is focused on validation and demonstration. The call aims to validate innovative business models and check their bankability. It also seeks to draw lessons from both successful and failed projects, implying a focus on projects that have already reached a certain level of maturity.

Funding Amount: The JU (Joint Undertaking) estimates that an EU contribution of maximum EUR 1.50 million would allow these outcomes to be addressed appropriately.

Application Type: The application type is an open call, as indicated by the "Call for proposals" heading and the 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: The call mentions that actions performed at high TRL level are expected to leverage co-funding as commitment from stakeholders. It is of added value that such leverage is shown through the private investment in these specific topics.

Summary:

This Horizon Europe call, managed by the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (JU), aims to accelerate the integration of renewable hydrogen into energy-intensive industries by addressing economic, contractual, and financial bottlenecks. The call seeks to fund Coordination and Support Actions (CSAs) that will design and validate innovative business models for renewable hydrogen integration, assess their bankability, and provide evidence-based recommendations for developers, investors, and policymakers. Projects should focus on business model innovation, validate feasibility in real industrial cases, and produce key outputs such as a European White Paper, a Business Model Innovation Compendium, open-source economic models, bankability assessments, and policy briefs. Consortia should include a mix of industrial developers, technology providers, financial experts, legal experts, and digital optimisation specialists. The maximum EU contribution is EUR 1.50 million per project, and eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum. The call encourages synergies with other relevant initiatives and collaboration with Hydrogen Valleys. Subcontracting must be performed in EU Member States or Associated Countries. The call is a single-stage open call with a deadline of April 15, 2026.