Clean Hydrogen Partnership 2nd Call for Project Development Assistance (PDA) 2026

Clean Hydrogen Partnership 2nd Call for Project Development Assistance (PDA) 2026

The Clean Hydrogen Partnership opened its second Call for Project Development Assistance (PDA) for Hydrogen Valleys on 20 April 2026. The program is designed to provide free, structured advisory support to hydrogen projects in EU and Horizon Europe-associated geographies and explicitly states that up to 13 PDA services can be awarded. This is not a conventional grant for project construction; it is a short, intensive support package aimed at moving eligible projects toward a clearer investment case and the Final Investment Decision (FID).

Key details at a glance

What this opportunity is and why it is distinct

The PDA program is part of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership’s Hydrogen Valleys Facility and is intended as a practical de-risking support mechanism. The official PDA page on H2V states that the 2nd Call launched on 20 April 2026 with the same “submission deadline on 26 June 2026 at 23:59 CET.” The structure is clear: recipients receive tailored external support from the consulting network contracted by the partnership, primarily Roland Berger and its technical subcontractor Worley.

The key idea is that this is an accelerator for readiness, not a direct capital grant. Many hydrogen efforts are technically sound but fail to progress because commercial, regulatory, governance, and consortium planning are underdeveloped relative to what lenders and industrial partners expect before committing to FID. PDA is designed to address those weak points through targeted external assistance.

In practical terms, PDA is closest to a compact advisory boot camp with defined scope and outcomes. The 2026 call keeps the offer tightly bounded by track duration:

1. PDA light is six weeks and focused on early-stage support for pre-feasibility concept formation.
2. PDA plus is twelve weeks and oriented to more mature projects that already have a concept study and are nearer to a full feasibility roadmap toward FID.

The call does not replace project funding; it reduces the work needed to qualify for later financing, industrial partnerships, and policy-level buy-in.

Why it matters for the 2026/2027 cycle

The release dates and milestones align directly with a 2026/2027 planning horizon. The call opened in late April 2026 and closes in late June 2026, with evaluation and notification scheduled for mid-July and support starting from September onward. That places awarded projects in a strong position for second-half 2026 or early 2027 partnership-building and financing discussions.

For developers, authorities, and project leaders tracking 2026/2027 opportunities, this is one of the few high-value support mechanisms where the output is immediate implementation readiness rather than a grant payment and post-award reporting obligations. The timeline is short enough to require urgency, but long enough that teams with existing internal readiness can produce a credible submission.

For EU-associated ecosystems, the call is also valuable because participation is not restricted only to existing Clean Hydrogen partners or previously funded projects. The partnership explicitly notes that the call is fully open and merit-based. That means the screening is based on eligibility, track fit, and quality of materials rather than prior internal network membership.

Who can apply and who should apply

The program is open to two applicant categories:

1. Regional, local, or umbrella organizations acting as coordinators of Hydrogen Valley projects.
2. The Hydrogen Valley project developers themselves.

The call is for initiatives intended to reach FID and is not suitable for operational or already FID-reached projects. The FAQ states the program is for projects “still under development,” and explicitly excludes already operational projects.

This means the right applicants are teams who have enough project definition to justify a structured assistance period but not enough maturity to complete a robust feasibility package yet, or who need external support to strengthen weak areas before serious financing.

From a strategic lens:

• If your project has a clear concept but no clear off-taker, permitting pathway, and financing logic, PDA light often fits.
• If your project has a formal concept study and a strong implementation plan but needs fast track technical-commercial refinement toward implementation, PDA plus is usually the better fit.
• If your project has already reached operational status or FID, this is the wrong instrument.

The program also appears to be tuned to regional and multi-stakeholder projects. If your project spans municipalities, utilities, cluster actors, or industrial users, the governance component may be especially relevant because the PDA scope includes project governance and coordination support explicitly.

Track differences: PDA light versus PDA plus in detail

The announcement and portal materials separate the program into three offer lines:

• Up to 4 PDA light slots (EU Member States or associated countries) for pre-feasibility support.
• Up to 4 PDA light slots (EU-13 Member States) for pre-feasibility support.
• Up to 5 PDA plus slots for projects with greater maturity.

The H2V FAQ adds practical criteria for choosing PDA plus: applicants should be able to demonstrate two formal requirements:

1. A completed concept stage (equivalent to a FEL 1 concept study), and
2. A commercial start-of-operations date by 01/01/2030 in the governance and implementation plan.

Where teams are uncertain about the technical maturity requirement, the FAQ indicates such applications may be reassigned to PDA light. That is useful in two ways: first, uncertainty is not a hard rejection; second, teams should still submit with explicit self-assessment instead of waiting.

What is supported inside each track

The scope is repeatedly described as four dimensions:

• Commercial and financing logic
• Technical design and engineering assumptions
• Regulatory and permitting considerations
• Valley governance and coalition management

You should assume review quality depends heavily on the clarity of these four parts, not only on a polished narrative.

Geographic and allocation nuance

The call reserves four of the PDA light positions specifically for EU-13 Member States and indicates that a smaller share of slots is also reserved for other eligible EU member states and associated countries. This implies that projects from associated or non-EU-13 regions are still eligible but should be explicit in how they position themselves against competitive peers.

Eligibility and qualification checklist

To avoid a late rejection, verify each of these points before applying:

• Project is in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country.
• Project has not reached FID and is not already operational.
• Project is a Hydrogen Valley context (regional cluster or ecosystem-led initiative rather than one isolated installation with no downstream integration potential).
• Only one application is submitted per Hydrogen Valley in this call.
• Full application and documents are submitted in English.
• Team accepts that application is only possible through the PDA portal.

Per the FAQ, no prior Clean Hydrogen Partnership funding history is required to apply. That reduces friction for new actors in hydrogen ecosystems that were not previously connected to the partnership.

Application process: what to actually do

The clean route is portal-based and straightforward but not lightweight in prep.

1. Register on the PDA Applicant’s area in pda.h2v.eu.
2. Start a new application for the 2nd call.
3. Provide project-level information in the online interface.
4. Upload required attachments from the Call Specifications document.
5. Select track type (light or plus), ideally with documented rationale tied to maturity.
6. Submit before 26 June 2026 23:59 CET.

There is no fee. The call details describe the process as designed to be low-effort in format, but the actual effort sits in preparing a coherent project set (especially if you want the right reviewer impression in a short application window).

The portal does support saved applications, so teams can draft, pause, and complete later.

If applying as a consortium, the portal-based process expects one lead developer to submit, while additional partners can provide support letters of commitment.

Required materials and practical submission strategy

The portal pages repeatedly refer to documents listed in the Call Specifications chapter 2.4. At minimum, you should prepare:

• a concise valley-level project fact sheet and scope narrative,
• conceptual materials sufficient to prove readiness for the selected track,
• partner and governance information,
• key milestones and resource commitments,
• any documentation needed to justify commercial and technical feasibility direction.

Even though the platform describes documents as “a compilation of existing documents,” teams should treat that as “existing information should be clean, complete, and consistent.” Many submissions fail not because of missing files, but because the files do not explain one clear path and timeline.

Practical preparation in the 2–3 weeks before the deadline should include:

• lock the one-page project summary first,
• choose the right track and set internal owners,
• produce the concept-level evidence for PDA plus if claiming this track,
• collect project permits, governance map, and technical assumptions, even at high-level,
• map internal decision-makers who can support weekly interactions during assistance.

If the concept is not stable enough for PDA plus, claim PDA light rather than over-claiming maturity. The portal’s review process can reassess, but the best applications are those with internally believable claims.

Review, evaluation, and likely outcomes

The available public materials do not list numeric budget ceilings or automatic acceptance probabilities, so applicants should focus on quality and fit.

What is known from official sources:

• The second-call pipeline is capped: five plus and eight light total.
• Review is results-driven, with notification expected in mid-July 2026.
• A mandatory scoping phase follows award notification.
• Scoping and support is planned to begin by early September.
• No selection penalty if the project does not eventually reach implementation.

Because slots are limited, reviewer expectations are driven by the “readiness uplift” potential. If your application leaves reviewer uncertainty around deliverables, the project is less competitive than one with fewer bells and more clarity.

The portal FAQ also indicates a scoring model and minimum threshold across four criteria (not listed numerically in detail in the extracted lines), which is a sign that every element of the short application should link to outcomes, not only ambition.

Commitment and workload once selected

Awarded teams should plan for active participation. The FAQ details that representatives are expected to participate in a scoping phase (roughly 2–3 weeks after notification) and then weekly support sessions in the implementation period.

A conservative planning assumption is that internal teams need recurring time and data-sharing capacity.

The Clean Hydrogen materials also mention that there are no charges for the support service itself, but application preparation costs are the applicant’s responsibility, and internal staff time is expected.

That is a key governance point: this is free in vendor cost but not free in organizational cost. Teams should allocate named owners and decision authority at submission.

Common mistakes to avoid

1. Missing the deadline. The close is hard at 26 June 2026, 23:59 CET, so clock discipline is essential.
2. Applying with an operational project. If the project is already at FID or operating, it is outside the support scope.
3. Submitting through email. This call is portal-only; email submission is not accepted.
4. Wrong language and incomplete upload quality. All documents must be in English.
5. Vague track choice. If you claim PDA plus without FEL 1-level clarity and commercialization/operations assumptions, review quality will drop.
6. Treating it like a grant payout. This is technical support, not direct build funding, so teams often overstate the money flow and underinvest in evidence.
7. Underestimating stakeholder load. Only one slot per valley, and external consultants require usable data and active communication.

FAQ (short form)

1) Is there a fee to apply? No, there is no application fee.

2) Can my project apply if it was in an earlier Clean Hydrogen call? Yes, there is no ban for prior participation, and a previous submission does not automatically disqualify a team.

3) Is participation limited to Horizon Europe participants only? The call is for EU Member States and Horizon Europe-associated countries, with explicit slots for EU-13 states.

4) Are both applicants and beneficiaries required to sign legal documents? Yes. Selected teams are expected to sign the collaboration agreement and related data provisions before service starts.

5) Do all applicants pay for preparation support? Application preparation costs are borne by applicants and are not reimbursed by PDA.

6) What happens after notification? Successful applicants move to a scoping phase and then support execution, while unsuccessful teams receive notification outcomes.

Official links and monitoring points

• Primary call announcement: https://www.clean-hydrogen.europa.eu/media/news/applications-are-open-2nd-call-project-development-assistance-pda-2026-04-20_en
• PDA portal, active call page, deadlines, and FAQ: https://pda.h2v.eu/en
• H2V news update and recording pages on the same portal for context on the info days and process updates.

Practical next steps if you are considering this call

If your Hydrogen Valley project is still in planning mode and your team has to convince investors, off-takers, or public authorities of technical-commercial viability, apply now if the timeline still fits.

Use the following quick checklist before submission:

• Confirm your valley status and geography against eligibility.
• Finalize a one-paragraph “problem, solution, timeline to FID” note.
• Decide track honestly based on evidence maturity.
• Prepare internal resource commitments for the six- or twelve-week engagement.
• Gather required consortium or coordination endorsements.
• Submit well before 26 June 2026 to avoid portal and communication bottlenecks.

This is one of the clearest EU support windows in 2026 that helps projects get from concept to investment-grade readiness without paying consulting fees. It is especially relevant for teams that can prove seriousness but still need structured acceleration in exactly the areas that typically delay scale-up.