The subject of the contract to be awarded is the conception of a funding program, conceptual design and implementation of a competition procedure as well as administrative implementation of the funding program for technological, economic and application-oriented competence building with regard to the production, storage, distribution and application of hydrogen in SMEs in Rhineland-Palatinate within the framework of the Municipal Investment Program Climate Protection and Innovation (KIPKI).

The contract is awarded by way of an open procedure.

See the task description for details on the scope of services.

With a funding volume of 25 million euros (within the Municipal Investment Programme Climate Protection and Innovation (KIPKI) of the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate), the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Agriculture and Viticulture (MWVLW) plans to support various projects to ramp up the hydrogen infrastructure as part of a funding competition. The period for the disbursement of funding for the funded projects is limited to 31.12.2026.

For the selection of funding projects, a 2-stage, competitively structured application procedure is planned. As part of the first stage, private companies, public-private partnerships (PPPs), joint ventures with municipal participation, companies with public participation or public ownership, municipalities and local authorities will be invited to submit meaningful project outlines for the planned projects under the objective of the competitive procedure, which will then be evaluated by a jury that has yet to be established.

After evaluation of the project outlines, the most promising project outlines should be invited to submit a funding application. After reviewing the submitted funding applications, in particular from the point of view of budget, grant and state aid law, they are to receive a final approval decision. Once the overall financing has been secured, the funded projects are to be implemented promptly. The aim of the competitive process is to initiate a technological, economic and application-related development of competence in several parts of the country with regard to the production, storage, distribution and application of hydrogen in SMEs. The aim is to create regional value-added processes, e.g. in trade and logistics, research and development, but also energy supply, taking into account the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The subject of the contract to be awarded is the conception of a funding programme for projects that can realistically be implemented during the specified period (such as electrolysers, hydrogen filling stations (stationary and mobile) for heavy trucks, funding for the conversion of trucks to fuel cell technology), the conception and implementation of the competition and, as the project executing agency commissioned by the funding agency (MWVLW), the full administrative implementation of the funding programme including monitoring.

From the current point of view, the following service modules are required for order fulfillment:

1. Conception of the funding programme

2. Conception of the competition and its implementation

3. Responsible administrative implementation

4. Monitoring of the entire funding programme

See the task description for details on the scope of services.