The Hydrogen Valley Facility is an initiative by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership to accelerate the development of Hydrogen Valleys across the European Union and within countries associated to Horizon Europe. Thereby, it supports Hydrogen Valleys and a broad range of stakeholders within the hydrogen context to advance their hydrogen projects and contributes to capacity building, knowledge sharing and skill development.

Hydrogen Valleys are hydrogen ecosystems that cover a specific geography ranging from local or regional focus (e.g. industrial cluster, ports, airports, etc.) to specific national or international regions (e.g. cross-border hydrogen corridor), thereby supplying with a common hydrogen supply infrastructure several sectors in their geography such as mobility, industry and energy end uses. Across their geographic scope, Hydrogen Valleys cover multiple steps in the hydrogen value chain, ranging from hydrogen production, storage of hydrogen and distribution to offtakers via various modes of transport. 

Hydrogen Valleys were conceptualised in 2018 by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and have become a key pillar of Europe’s emerging clean hydrogen sector with the Clean Hydrogen JU spearheading this initiative.

Please refer to the first question of Section II (Eligibility for Project Development Assistance) to check whether your H2 project fulfills the conditions of a Hydrogen Valley.

Project Development Assistance (PDA) is a support offering by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership to accelerate the development of Hydrogen Valleys across the European Union, and within countries associated to Horizon Europe. PDAs provide tailored consulting services across four key dimensions to help Hydrogen Valleys advance toward Final Investment Decision (FID):

1. Commercial aspects (incl. renewables production/sourcing, H2 and derivatives production economics, transportation, offtake, business planning, commercial structuring as well as financing and funding)
2. Technical aspects (incl. process design, tech selection, asset sizing, site selection, cost estimates and risk management)
3. Regulatory aspects (incl. permitting, production pathways and certifications, and public acceptance strategy)
4. Valley governance aspects (incl. consortium building, stakeholder management, project governance and planning).

The six-week PDA light programme is aimed at supporting early-stage Hydrogen Valleys in advancing towards a compelling pre-feasibility project concept through structured consulting, gap analysis and standardised support packages. 

The twelve-week PDA plus programme is aimed at supporting more advanced Hydrogen Valleys that already have a concept study in place with modular, customised assistance to advance towards the feasiblity milestone, and a detailed roadmap to FID. 

The Project Development Assistance (PDA) will be conducted by the consulting firm Roland Berger, along with its specialised subcontractor Worley covering technical design aspects, supported by Inycom regarding the underlying IT infrastructure of the H2V Platform. These PDA Service Consultants have been mandated by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership to deliver the Project Development Assistance (PDA) services and to manage the preceding application process.

The duration of the Project Development Assistance (PDA) depends on the programme track. The PDA light programme’s core delivery period lasts six weeks, while the PDA plus programme provides support over 12 weeks.

The Project Development Assistance (awarded with this call) is planned to start by beginning of September 2026. After the notification of applicants by mid-July, a mandatory scoping phase of c. 2-3 weeks takes place for successful applicants.

There are no costs for your Hydrogen Valley project associated to the provision of the PDA services. However, any costs incurred for the preparation and submission of your application are to be borne by the applicant and will not be reimbursed. Additionally, you are expected to allocate internal resources to collaborate with the PDA Service Consultants during the assistance period, as outlined in the Model Declaration of Collaboration (Annex I).

• Up to 5 PDA pluses for Hydrogen Valleys in EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon Europe 
• Up to 4 PDA lights for Hydrogen Valleys in EU Member States or countries associated to Horizon Europe 
• Up to 4 PDA lights for Hydrogen Valleys located in an EU 13 Member State (Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia)

Applications can be submitted by two types of organizations:

1. Regional/local/other authorities or umbrella organizations that serve as a coordinator of various projects within a given Hydrogen Valley, but do not develop the projects (exclusively) by themselves
2. Valley project developers who develop the Hydrogen Valley project directly

Per Hydrogen Valley, only one application for PDA support can be submitted.

No, the PDA programmes are designed to support Hydrogen Valleys that are still under development and aiming to reach Final Investment Decision (FID). Projects that have already reached FID or are already operational are not eligible.

No. The Call for Applications for PDA support is fully open and purely merit-based. It is intended to support all eligible Hydrogen Valleys in accelerating their progress towards Final Investment Decision (FID). There is no requirement for H2 projects to have prior funding from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, to have participated in previous (or any upcoming) calls from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, or to be registered on the H2V Platform (h2v.eu).

Please register on the PDA Applicant's area and then fill out the required information about your Hydrogen Valley project and upload all required documents as specified in the Call for Applications.

Applicants can choose between the PDA light or PDA plus tracks based on their hydrogen project's maturity and must ensure compliance with eligibility criteria.

No. The application is only possible via this PDA application portal.

All application documents need to be handed in in English.

No.

Yes, you can register with the same email address as the one you used in the first Call for Applications for PDA support, regardless of whether your application was successful or has been rejected.
To start your PDA application for this Call, you need to register again.

No. Per Hydrogen Valley, one PDA programme needs to be selected.

PDA plus applicants must prove two formal requirements:

1. Concept stage completed (to be proven with a concept study (Front-end loading 1 (FEL 1) or equivalent)
2. Commercial date of operations until 01/01/2030 (to be proven within the governance and implementation plan document)

Applicants that do not meet these two requirements may apply for a PDA light.

In this Call for Applications, 5 PDA pluses and 8 PDA lights will be awarded, thereof 4 PDA lights for Hydrogen Valleys in EU 13 Member States.
 

Yes, as long as the Hydrogen Valley project meets all eligibility criteria and the two formal PDA plus requirements, you can apply for a PDA plus. Your application will then be ranked against all other PDA plus applications (see section IV for more details).

The application consists in basic information about the Hydrogen Valley project to be inserted within the PDA application interface and documents to be uploaded.

The required documents to be uploaded are specified in the Call Specifications document (Chapter 2.4 Application documents).

To apply as a consortium, your Hydrogen Valley must designate a lead developer entity to submit the application on behalf of all partners. Other project partners may sign a Letter of Commitment (Annex V) to confirm their participation and support.

Yes, you can save your application and resume at a later point in time by logging into the PDA application area with the login details received upon registration.

Any confidential information submitted as part of the application process will be treated with strict confidentiality by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its PDA Service Consultants. It will only be used for evaluating the application, and delivering the PDA services in case of a successful application and PDA award.

Please refer to the Call Specifications document (chapter 5 Protection of personal data and confidentiality) for more information.

If you are unsure whether the concept study is a FEL 1 (Front-end loading 1) study or equivalent, it is recommended to apply for PDA plus and submit the study for evaluation. 

A concept study should include scoping and conceptual plant design (covering inputs, processes, and outputs), a description of the supply chain (including in- and outflows), a permitting plan, high-level construction planning, information on operations, maintenance, and risk management, and a Class 5 cost estimate. 

If the Evaluation Committee comes to the conclusion that your concept study does not meet these criteria, your application will automatically be reassigned to the PDA light programme track and evaluated therein. 

Applying for PDA plus ensures your project is considered for the highest level of support available.

Yes, via the e-mail you indicated during the registration for your application.

If you have questions about the application process, you can submit them via the contact email address (h2v@clean-hydrogen.europa.eu). Answers to all questions will be published publicly as part of this FAQ section.

The deadline for submission of the application is June 26 2026 at 23:59 CET.

Applications submitted after the deadline of June 26 2026, at 23:59 CET will not be considered. You will need to wait for the next Call for Applications.

Yes, you can reapply, but only for future calls for Project Development Assistance. If your application is rejected in this specific call, you will not be able to resubmit it in this call.

However, you can address the feedback provided with the notification of rejection and prepare to apply again when new calls are announced.

Yes, currently, a total of three calls for Project Development Assistance (PDA) are planned between 2025 and 2027. Across these calls, up to 40 PDAs are planned to be awarded to eligible Hydrogen Valley projects with 15 PDAs already completed under the first Call of Applications in 2025. For details about future calls, keep an eye on updates from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and on the Hydrogen Valley Platform (H2Valleys | Hydrogen Valley Platform).