The funding initiative entitled "Energy transition in the transport sector: sector coupling through the use of electricity-based fuels"

On 27 February 2017, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy launched the funding initiative entitled "Energy transition in the transport sector: sector coupling through the use of electricity-based fuels". The initiative aims to create a close technological and innovation-policy link between the energy industry, the transport sector and the maritime industry.

The focus of the funding initiative is on research projects which seek to produce and use alternative electricity-based fuels and to integrate the latest technologies into the energy sector. Electricity-based fuels can be used in passenger vehicles, lorries, sea-faring vessels, construction equipment or in stationary industrial engines. Against this background, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is also providing funding for research and development in the fields of maritime systems using synthetic fuels and smart micro-grids in port areas.

For this purpose, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy will be making available around €130 million in the coming three years in the context of the following programmes:

The planned funding is clearly based on an application-oriented approach. New solutions are to be developed and tested in the context of precompetitive cooperation between industry (large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises) and research institutes.