Deadline: 20-Apr-23
The European Commission (EC) is calling for proposals for Demonstrations to Accelerate the Switch to Safe Use of New Sustainable Climate Neutral Fuels in Waterborne Transport.
Scope
- Whilst smaller scale demonstration of vessels running on potentially sustainable climate neutral fuels have been ongoing in the waterborne transport sector[1], large-scale demonstrations, particularly with more challenging fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia for which end-to-end transnational operations, safety, environmental effects, risks and their mitigation are still lacking. The assessment of the results from such large-scale demonstrators are necessary to trigger the wider adoption of sustainable climate neutral fuels within the waterborne transport sector.
- Adoption of sustainable climate neutral fuels within waterborne transport assets will in turn be possible only if the outstanding challenges of the daily operations are solved, for example bunkering, storage, handling and on-board operations have to be proven safe. Sustainable climate neutral fuels include potential new safety issues, such as toxicity, different flashpoints or fire hazards which are expected to be addressed.
Funding Information
- The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- Public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- Cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).
Outcomes
- Project outputs and results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:
- Full scale on board operational demonstration of a sustainable climate-neutral fuel system, including fuel distribution, bunkering, fuels storage, power conversion and possible residue handling, in a realistic on-board operational environment;
- Verifiable KPIs to prove the effectiveness, viability, and impact of the demonstrated solutions;
- KPIs to be demonstrated include: ship power optimisation; bunkering specificity (equipment, safety, operations, flowrate); energy consumption efficiency in waterborne transport; reduction of the global emission of GHGs; life-cycle GHG emissions on a well-to-wake assessment basis and reduction of the air pollution emissions (notably SOx, NOx, CO, PM, black carbon) in a range of operating scenarios.
- Accelerated transition to climate-neutral or zero-emission maritime and inland ship operations, by facilitating the wider adoption of sustainable climate neutral fuels at a larger scale and for vessels requiring prolonged autonomy. Particularly focusing on fuels where significant on-board challenges remain, with consideration of the specific supply chain requirements to satisfy the needs of maritime transport and inland navigation, in particular shipping activities with frequent cargo handling operations.
- Demonstrated possibilities from smart digitalisation, to facilitate the on-board use of sustainable climate neutral waterborne fuels.
- Demonstrate achievement of the 2040 targets specified within the European Commission proposal for a Fuel EU Maritime regulation reference COM/2021/562.
Eligibility Criteria
- To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding.
- To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
- The Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions,
- The Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States,
- Countries associated to Horizon Europe,
- The following low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit EC.