HFCCAT Competition Call No. 1

The first call for applications for the HFCCAT Demonstration Programme funding opened as publicised on 23 October 2006. The call closed on 24 November and during this time a number of applications were received for both the HFC and CAT funding. A panel of independent assessors have assessed the applications and a number of these have been selected to progress to stage 2 of the process. It is currently expected that the successful projects will be announced in summer 2007.

The Programme is expected to run for three years and a second call for funding applications is likely to take place in early 2008. Further information on the dates for the call will be given nearer the time on this website.

Over the lifetime of the scheme, BERR would like to see a wide range of projects come forward, examples of which could include:

Hydrogen
Production technologies:

• Fossil fuel reforming
• Hydrogen from biomass
• Hydrogen from wastes
• Coal gasification with CO₂ separation (see below)
• Electrolysis

Storage and distribution technologies:

• Compressors (for compressed or liquefied gas)
• Compressed gas storage
• Liquid storage
• Metal hydrides
• Chemical hydrides
• Fuelling infrastructure

Use technologies:

• Internal combustion engines
• Fuel cells (see below)
• Modified gas turbines

Integrated systems:

• Large scale demonstration of hydrogen energy use in a community

Fuel Cells
Technologies:

• Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (also known as Solid Polymer Fuel Cells)
• Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
• Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells
• Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells
• Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
• Alkaline Fuel Cells

Applications:

• Vehicle propulsion
• Vehicle auxiliary power units
• Distributed generation
• CHP
• Remote power
• Battery/genset replacement

Carbon Abatement Technologies
Technologies for higher efficiency conversion incorporating capture-ready concepts:

• Advanced boilers and steam turbines
• Gas turbines for higher temperature gas combustion
• Improved gasifiers and key components including air separation

Fuel switching to lower carbon alternatives:

• Co-firing of fossil fuel with biomass and/or wastes.

CO₂ capture and storage technologies:

• Natural Gas processing with carbon capture to produce hydrogen
• Carbon capture for pulverised coal technology, including oxy-fuel firing and amine scrubbing
• Gasification with syngas production and CO₂ separation
• CO₂ transport, injection and geological storage, including qualification of site and demonstrating monitoring and verification techniques

State Aid
This programme has been approved under the European state aid guidelines for R&D (see link to the guidelines on our links page). These guidelines define the levels of research: fundamental, industrial and pre-competitive, which we are allowed to subsidise, and define eligible costs and maximum payment levels. It is expected that most or all of the demonstration projects funded under the first call will be the pre-competitive level – in order to be eligible for a grant projects must as a minimum meet the definition of pre-competitive R&D as set out in Annex I of the guidelines.

The R&D state aid guidelines are currently under review and are likely to be replaced by new rules including a broader definition of eligible research categories at the end of 2006 or early 2007. Later calls in the scheme for the remaining £25 million could focus on a broader range of projects, which involve the demonstration of carbon abatement technologies in operating power stations.

The primary aim being to advance promising technologies from the R&D / laboratory stage to the pre-commercialisation stage in readiness for near commercial application.

Stage 1 Qualification Process
Refer to HFCCAT launch presentation.