NWO and the National Growth Fund program GroenvermogenNL are making more than 20 million euros available to make the nitrogen-based chemical industry more sustainable. This will finance scientific research necessary for the use of hydrogen and green electrons in the chemical sector.
The chemical industry is one of the largest users of fossil resources and has a significant share in global CO2 emissions. Nitrogen-containing chemicals are essential in, among other things, medicines, polymers, and fertilizers. For example, the production of fertilizers from natural gas accounts for 5% of the Dutch demand for natural gas. Hydrogen could replace this demand, allowing the Dutch chemical industry to become more sustainable and remain competitive.
Objective of the Call
This call is aimed at the development and demonstration of cost-effective technologies that use renewable hydrogen and/or green electrons to produce nitrogen-containing chemicals. Projects can fall into one of the following research directions:
- Thermocatalytic synthesis of NH3 and nitrogen-containing chemicals;
- Direct electrochemical, plasma-chemical, and photochemical conversion to produce useful nitrogen-containing chemicals.
There is 20,317,355 euros available for funding. For this call, a minimum of 15% own contribution is required, for example from companies. For this reason, and to ensure good alignment with practice, researchers and companies must collaborate for this call in a consortium. This consortium will be formed during two workshops.
See more conditions in the Call for proposals.
Meetings
This call is carried out together with the GroenvermogenNL foundation. GroenvermogenNL is organizing an information meeting on June 4. Would you like more information first? Sign up via the site of GroenvermogenNL
Consortium formation will take place during two multi-day workshops, registration for this can be done via our online application system ISAAC. Note, each organization may only fill out one registration form, so discuss well with your colleagues who will go. Due to the amount of information requested in the form, we also recommend this. The workshops will take place on September 22-24 and October 27-29, 2025.
About GroenvermogenNL
The National Growth Fund program GroenvermogenNL is the investment program for green assets for the Dutch economy and society. Through this program, green hydrogen must be the driving force for the transition from a fossil resource-based society and industry to sustainable energy supply. This way, the Netherlands can build a new industry and an attractive business climate. To make this transition possible, well-trained people and a strong structure of knowledge sharing are necessary. The investment program runs until 2030.
Programs for the National Growth Fund
NWO implements thematic programs for research, knowledge development, and innovation that are financed from the National Growth Fund. The results of these programs are applicable in innovations and organizations and thus contribute to the sustainable earning capacity and broad prosperity of the Netherlands. In the programs, parties from the entire knowledge chain collaborate, both public and private.