Knowledge transfer and training of Civil Servants, Safety Officials and Permitting Staff to improve Safety Assessment and Licensing Procedures across Europe

It will supply them with the necessary background knowledge to securely and confidently navigate the processes involved. The audience will consist of any staff involved in permitting processes on both sides of the table, but could also include fire brigades and other institutions involved in permitting processes in a consulting role. By raising awareness of the differences in these processes between Member States, the project will be able to contribute towards a harmonisation of procedures throughout the EU. The primary addressees of the project will be the regions and countries of the current and future Hydrogen Valley projects funded through the Clean Hydrogen JU.

Scope

• The project will compile the existing evaluation, permitting, and licensing procedures for hydrogen projects across Europe in order to establish the training material. From this base, the project will compile present best practices for permitting Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (FCH) technologies across the EU into a handbook. The project will provide training to public officials and all other types of staff engaged in permit applications, project assessment and certification, and permit granting. This will allow streamlining project implementation and ensure effective permitting and licensing procedures. Projects should further address the knowledge transfer between Hydrogen Valleys and between Member States on permitting and certification of hydrogen projects, for example, based on the best practice handbook.

Expected Outcomes

• Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following outcomes:
  • Collecting information on differences in Member States regulations in permitting and licensing processes of hydrogen projects across the EU;
  • Giving public officials of the Hydrogen Valley regions and in the EU access to specific training plans and materials in order to spread knowledge on hydrogen technologies, their safety analysis and permitting processes;
  • Supporting the move towards the use of digital tools to improve the efficiency in evaluation and licensing processes;
  • Contributing to retain the EU leadership in efficiency and systematised licensing procedures, thus leveraging green hydrogen projects.

Eligible Projects

• Proposals should address all of the following:
  • Analysis of evaluation, permitting, and licensing procedures across the EU, covering at least all countries with Hydrogen Valleys. In addition proposals should cover all remaining Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries, and a selection of Tier 3 countries as deemed suitable by the applicants, ensuring an effective implementation of training programmes that can understand and explain the differences in procedures in the different target countries;
  • Development and implementation of comprehensive training programmes in the target countries and/or regions (at least, as a minimum, in all countries with Hydrogen Valleys supported by the JU) for public officials and staff involved in permit applications, assessment, evaluation, permitting, and licensing of hydrogen projects, covering relevant areas to ensure a deep understanding of principles and practices related to hydrogen projects;
  • Supply of train-the-trainer courses to training service providers and institutions with internal training programmes in all countries covered by the above;
  • Assessment of educational progress, issuing a certificate recognised by the EU hydrogen industry;
  • Introduction of the use of new digital tools to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in local evaluation and licensing processes, encouraging trainees to use such tools in their day-to-day practice.

For more information, visit European Commission.