Germany confirms €23.5 million for fuel cell projects

The Federal Ministry of Transport is supporting hydrogen mobility with a further 23.5 million euros as part of the National Innovation Programme Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP).

The range of projects now funded extends from forklift trucks to the equipment of a ride-pooling fleet to the development of a hydrogen bus and a fuel cell-powered road sweeper.

The largest amount of almost ten million euros will go to the Post subsidiary StreetScooter for 500 fuel cell vehicles. Just over eight million euros will go to MAN and Shell, who, together with Anleg GmbH and TU Braunschweig, want to develop a fuel cell system including a self-sufficient refuelling system for heavy commercial vehicles. CleverShuttle will also receive over 750,000 euros to purchase another 50 fuel cell vehicles for its ridesharing service. Further funds will go to the Daimler subsidiary EvoBus (development of a battery-electric city bus with a fuel cell as range extension), Faun Umwelttechnik (waste collection vehicles and sweepers with fuel cell drive) and the company Günsel, which intends to purchase 89 fuel cell trucks for intralogistics at the BMW plant in Leipzig.

“Hydrogen, fuel cells and electricity move the future”, said Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) at the presentation of the “future checks”. “We have seen many studies and pilot projects in recent years. We need them on the road now – because today we have to convince the citizens that the technology works and is a real milestone towards the CO2-neutral mobility of tomorrow”.

The funding is part of the National Innovation Programme for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP), with which the Federal Government has been investing in research and development since 2006. Just a few days ago, the BMVI published a new call for funding for fuel cell cars in fleets. Applications must be submitted by 31 January 2020. A total of up to 5 million euros is available under the new call for proposals.

bmvi.de (German)