Integration of control & monitoring tools and strategies for improved Fuel Cell System durability & reliability
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking or Clean Hydrogen Partnership is a unique public-private partnership supporting research and innovation (R&I) activities in hydrogen technologies in Europe. It builds upon the success of its predecessor, the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The scope of this topic is on the development, integration and validation of robust online monitoring and control algorithms for FCS, targeting prediction and mitigation of degradation, faults and failures throughout the system lifetime.
Focus shall be on Balance of Plant (BoP) components rather than fuel cell stack. Activities should combine experimental testing, digital modelling and may use AI-based techniques to develop and validate predictive tools for health management.
Proposals should clearly explain how they go beyond the achievements of previous projects (namely Ruby [1] and Giantleap [2]), identifying specific technical or methodological advances.
Detailed Call Description
Proposals should address the following aspects:
- Develop innovative control, monitoring and diagnostic strategies to enhance FCS durability and reliability, leveraging predictive tools;
- Contribute to the development of standardised protocols for State of Health (SoH) diagnostics and components interoperability in FCS;
- Integrate developed strategies in an open framework, with adaptable hardware/software platforms as core systems for diagnostics and prognostics, adaptable to different types of FCs and other components of the powertrain (i.e., battery, motors, etc.)
- Identify and quantify how BoP components influence FCS durability and reliability, and integrate measures to mitigate degradation and FCS fault and failures;
- Improve the FCS reliability (e.g. increasing Mean Time Between Failures, MTBF) through approaches such as predictive maintenance and condition monitoring applied to key components, using additional (e.g. vibration) or standard (e.g., current/voltage, temperature measurements) or virtual sensors (e.g., estimation of local compositions/conditions);
- Use of artificial intelligence and data-driven methods is encouraged, especially when combined with physics-based modelling. Physical modelling can be used both to develop real-time diagnostic/prognostic strategies and to implement reference models that justify the adoption of specific diagnostic/prognostic strategies;
- As far as possible, all tools and methodologies developed should be made available through open data infrastructure, using common/open data formats and providing interfaces for data access and visualisation.
- Regardless of the type of diagnostic/prognostic algorithm developed (model-based or data-driven), these should be validated using experimental data obtained from real demonstrators. As in previously funded projects such as Helenus [3], experimental data could be obtained from small-scale components (down to low power levels, around 5–25 kW), which may be subjected to specific duty cycles and stress tests (corresponding to at least 1000 hours of accelerated aging tests, run in a laboratory environment or in real vehicles).
- Development of two power system demonstrators integrating FCS, software/hardware for diagnostic/prognostic functionalities and power electronics. Each demonstrator should be based on a relevant FC technology (e.g., one based on a PEMFC and the other on a SOFC system, with single or multiple stacks), with a power output representative of at least 100 kW and taking into account environmental and duty cycle constraints coming from potential OEMs involved. If aging and malfunction models are available (validated on real components of a specific FCS technology), one demonstrator could be replaced by a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) system. In this case, diagnostic/prognostic methodologies should be run on a dedicated real-time target (the same used to monitor the real application);
- Demonstration of the versatility of the methodologies for different fuel cell technologies and with different fuels (when applicable); The demonstrators should be tested under representative duty cycles and operating conditions, providing sufficient evidence to support the achievement of TRL6.
- Creation of an open-access, anonymised datalake, integrating both experimental and high-fidelity simulated datasets (e.g., from digital twins), organised with open standards and anonymised metadata, to enable reproducible research, AI-based diagnostics training, and broad industrial adoption.
Projects should build on the results obtained in previous projects funded in this area of research, such as Ruby, GiantLeap, Helenus or Virtual-FCS, developing and testing (on real systems) innovative methodologies that can be adapted to different FCS technologies.
Furthermore, depending on the application addressed, synergies with the relevant partnerships such be explored, e.g EU-Rail JU (rail), 2ZERO Partnership (road) or Zero Emission Waterborne Transport Partnership (waterborne).
For activities developing test protocols and procedures for the performance and durability assessment of fuel cell components proposals should foresee a collaboration mechanism with JRC (see section 2.2.4.3 “Collaboration with JRC”), in order to support EU-wide harmonisation. Test activities should adopt the already published EU harmonised testing protocols to benchmark performance and quantify progress at programme level.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
Expected EU contribution per project: €4.00 million.
Thematic Categories
- Economy-Finances
- Energy
- Environment and Climate Change
- Industry
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Small-Medium Enterprises and Competitiveness
Eligibility for Participation
- Associations
- Central Government
- Educational Institutions
- Large Enterprises
- Legal Entities
- Natual person / Citizen / Individual
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Services Providers
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
Additional eligibility condition: Maximum contribution per topic
For some topics, in line with the Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA, an additional eligibility criterion has been introduced to limit the Clean Hydrogen JU requested contribution mostly for actions performed at high TRL level, including demonstration in real operational environment and with important involvement from industrial stakeholders and/or end users such as public authorities. Such actions 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. Therefore, proposals requesting contributions above the amounts specified per each topic below will not be evaluated
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-03-03: The maximum Clean Hydrogen JU contribution that may be requested is EUR 5.00 million
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-04-02: The maximum Clean Hydrogen JU contribution that may be requested is EUR 8.00 million
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-06-01: The maximum Clean Hydrogen JU contribution that may be requested is EUR 17.00 million
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-06-02: The maximum Clean Hydrogen JU contribution that may be requested is EUR 8.00 million
Additional eligibility condition: Membership to Hydrogen Europe / Hydrogen Europe Research
For the topics listed below, in line with the Clean Hydrogen JU SRIA, an additional an additional eligibility criterion has been introduced to ensure that one partner in the consortium is a member of either Hydrogen Europe or Hydrogen Europe Research. This concerns topics targeting actions for large-scale demonstrations, flagship projects and strategic research actions, where the industrial and research partners of the Clean Hydrogen JU are considered to play a key role in accelerating the commercialisation of hydrogen technologies by being closely linked to the Clean Hydrogen JU constituency, which could further ensure full alignment with the SRIA of the JU. This approach shall also ensure the continuity of the work performed within projects funded through the H2020 and FP7, by building up on their experience and consolidating the EU value-chain. In the Call 2026 this applies to: development and demonstration of flexible and standardised hydrogen storage systems and demonstration and operation of reversible solid oxide cell systems operation for local grid-connected hydrogen production and utilisation. This will also apply to the Hydrogen Valleys (flagship) topics as they are considered of strategic importance for the European Union ambitions to double the number of Hydrogen Valleys by 2025 as well as to the more recent European Commission’s inspirational target to have at least 50 Hydrogen Valleys under construction or operational by 2030 across the entire EU. For the Hydrogen Valleys topics a large amount of co-investment/co-funding of project participants/beneficiaries including national and regional programmes is expected.
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-03-03
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-04-02
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-06-01
- HORIZON-JU-CLEANH2-2026-06-02
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.