IPCEI Hydrogen 2 Fund to receive applications from 22 December

The guidelines for the IPCEI hydrogen 2 fund tender have been set by the Directorial Decree of MIMIT from December 19.

The order, which makes 350 ML euros accessible, establishes the resources, conditions, and implementation procedures for the IPCEI fund’s facilitative intervention to facilitate the realization of the IPCEI hydrogen 2.

The IPCEI H2 Industry (IPCEI Hydrogen 2) will encompass a significant portion of the hydrogen value chain and will support research, development, and innovation activities, which are also included in the initial industrial application:

• the construction of hydrogen-related infrastructure, in particular, electrolyzers;
• large-scale transport infrastructure for the production, storage, and transport of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen;
• the development of innovative and more sustainable technologies for the integration of hydrogen into industrial processes in multiple sectors, in particular those most difficult to decarbonize, such as steel, cement, and glass.

Beneficiaries who qualify for the facilitation measure include:

a) Companies meeting the requirements outlined in Article 3 of the Interministerial Decree that the Italian authorities have admitted to supporting during the preliminary assessment phase and are recognized as recipients of State aid approved for support for the implementation of IPCEI Hydrogen 2 by the authorization decision;

b) research organizations eligible under Article 5, Paragraph 3 of the interministerial decree, if any, and selected by the Ministry in the preliminary evaluation phase of the IPCEI Hydrogen 2 implementation. These organizations must meet the definitional requirements of the European framework of State aid for research, development, and innovation.

To qualify for the subsidies, expenses and costs must fall into one of the categories listed in the IPCEI Communication’s appendix labeled “Eligible Costs” and be established in accordance with the standards outlined in Annex No. 10 of this decree.

The projects must be started and carried out in accordance with the approved project portfolio, and they must adhere to the implementation and completion timeframes specified in the authorization decision as well as the financial requirements for activities supported by PNRR resources.

Within the parameters outlined in Article 7 of the Ministerial Decree, design modifications are permitted.

Any alterations to the timing of the intervention’s execution that would prevent it from meeting the deadlines and the PNRR targets linked with it are not permitted.

It is also forbidden to make changes that violate the PNRR’s particular obligations and guiding principles.

The beneficiary is obliged to submit a report on the implementation of the intervention at the conclusion of the activities and must maintain the original supporting documentation of the incurred costs and income from the initiative at its headquarters.

A separate accounting system or adequate accounting code must be adopted by the beneficiary in order to keep all transactions pertaining to the facilitated project separate, and the CUP associated with the financed project must be reported on the administrative and accounting records of the operation.

The expenses related to research, development, and innovation (CSR) activities must also be recognized separately from expenses related to first industrial application activities (FDI), and the income from the activities that were assisted must be supported by the proper forms of traceability.

Payments for spending titles and costs must be done in a way that ensures complete traceability and connects those payments to the relevant invoice or accounting document with an appropriate level of probative value.

With the exception of the categories of spending that are subject to the simplified cost alternatives, costs and costs incurred must be substantiated by receipted invoices or accounting records of similar probative value.

The application for access to the benefits must be submitted starting from 22 December 2022 and no later than 23 February 2023, in the manner indicated below:

• the beneficiaries provide the information requested by the Ministry for the purpose of enabling the dedicated IT platform to the attuazione.ipcei@mise.gov.it address;
• Applications must be submitted through the IT platform accessible at: https://appIPCEIIdrogeno2.invitalia.it starting from 2.30 pm on 22 December 2022;
• the platform allows access to the legal representative/attorney signing the request for facilitation, or to a delegated subject, falling within the authorized subjects communicated to the Ministry of Companies and Made in Italy;
• in case of access to the platform and compilation by delegated subjects, a specific declaration of authorization of the delegated subjects must be attached to the application for facilitations, as communicated to the Ministry according to the appropriate form.

The application, digitally signed by the legal representative or special agent of the beneficiary entity, drawn up according to the specimen of the diagram set out in Annex 1 must be accompanied by the following documentation:

• (a) approved project portfolio, including the financial plan showing the authorized funding gap;
• (b) technical data sheet, including a numerical summary of project costs, in accordance with the specimen of the diagram, set out in Annex 2;
• c) declaration regarding the data necessary for the request of anti-mafia information for the subjects subject to the verification referred to in Article 85 of Legislative Decree 6 September 2011, n. 159 and subsequent amendments and additions;
• d) indication of the person to whom the powers of signature of extraordinary administration are assigned for the signing of the concession decree;
• e) declarations of the absence of conflict of interest against the legal representative (and special attorney if any) and the beneficial owner, drawn up according to the model set out in Annex no. 11.