H2Talk - Hydrogen in the next MFF: from the Lab to Market through Coordinated Funding and Governance

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Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe

Europe is entering a decisive moment for its industrial and innovation policy. The draft Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034 proposes a reshaped funding architecture. With the hydrogen industry’s ambition to scale up, attention will increasingly turn to the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) and its Clean Transition window. This initiative also promises to introduce a Competitiveness Coordination Tool (CCT), a new governance instrument designed to support coordinated implementation, and align EU and national investments. For hydrogen, a sector at the heart of the clean industrial transition, this architecture could be transformative, if funding and governance are designed to work together. 

Hydrogen is both a flagship of the Green Deal Industrial Plan and a strong indicator for Europe’s capacity to scale strategic technologies. The numbers however in terms of investment needed for hydrogen to become a reality are stark: by 2040, the EU will need €1 trillion in hydrogen investment to meet the Commissions targets, and the next MFF period alone faces an estimated €200 billion funding gap. Today’s political landscape is fragmented, and inefficiencies have been clearly acknowledged (for example only 21% of hydrogen IPCEI projects have reached a final investment decision, and many Hydrogen Valleys remain stuck in permitting or financing limbo). This is proof that even with significant EU funding available, experience has shown that money alone cannot deliver results if efforts remain uncoordinated. 

The Commission’s proposals promise to change this, by connecting research and innovation (FP10) with deployment and industrial scale-up (ECF, IPCEIs, and the Industrial Decarbonisation Bank), under a single strategic umbrella. This umbrella will be complemented by the Innovation Fund and Connecting Europe Facilities and will thus be strengthened compared to the previous budget. The CCT, as novel governance body, aims to establish the missing connections with National Competitiveness Plans. It will be a shared priority-setting mechanism ensuring that EU and Member States actions reinforce each other. In principle, this could finally create a continuous pipeline from laboratory to market for hydrogen technologies. 

Despite the above mentioned funding mechanisms, the architecture for hydrogen projects is still largely a blueprint. Many details remain fluid, and both members of the EU Parliament and representatives of the research community have raised important cautions. If Europe’s next flagship fund is to succeed, it must balance policy alignment with competitive, transparent selection, especially in cross-cutting fields like hydrogen. These are precisely the issues this H2Talk aims to explore, with voices from policy, industry, and research. 

This H2Talk explored the new MFF - and the Competitiveness envelope in particular – looking at how they can work together to create a true lab-to-market pipeline for hydrogen. Panellists will discuss how funding, coordination, and governance can turn EU ambition into real industrial leadership, while avoiding the pitfalls of fragmentation, political overreach, and slow funding that have held back IPCEIs and Hydrogen Valleys.  

The discussion was built on the warnings of the Heitor group and Mario Draghi: without simplification, faster contracting, and independent input, Europe risks repeating the mistakes of fragmented, underpowered consortia. The experience of Hydrogen Valleys and IPCEIs makes this clear: delays have slowed deployment and diluted impact, but they also highlight the opportunity if multi-fund governance becomes genuinely agile. 

Speakers Include:

• Jens Geier, MEP
• Beatrice Coda, Head of Unit Clean energy transitions at European Commission, Directorate General for Research and Innovation
• Salvatore Amico Roxas, Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
• Aleksander Gerbec, Founder & CEO ECUBES Hydrogen & Flexibility
• Christian Urgeghe, Chief Technology Officer De Nora

Moderated by Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe