A hydrogen pilot project has been announced as one of the winners of a new EU-funded initiative for inter-regional partnerships.

It follows the European Commission’s call for expression of interest launched in July 2020, with four inter-regional partnerships selected in total.

Under the hydrogen project, two partnerships will merge: the European Hydrogen Valleys partnership gathering 12 regions led by Aragon, Auvergne Rhône Alpes, Normandie and Northern Netherlands and the partnership led by Košice Region with four other regions.

They will benefit from the Commission experts’ support, providing advice on how to best combine EU funds to finance projects, among others.

Each partnership can also benefit from external advisory service of up to €100,000 (£89,117) for scale-up and commercialisation activities, with funding coming from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The aim of the new pilot action is to mobilise regional and national innovation actors to address the impact of coronavirus.

Elisa Ferreira, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms said: “Inte-rregional partnerships are proof that when we co-operate beyond borders, we are stronger as we come up with smart and useful solutions for all.

“This new pilot initiative supporting inter-regional innovative partnerships is especially important in the current coronavirus context, showing how much cohesion policy is committed to contribute to Europe’s prompt response and recovery.”