CIC energiGUNE has been granted funding under the 2024 call of the AZPITEK program, an initiative promoted by the Basque Government to reinforce the scientific and technological infrastructures of the agents integrated in the Basque Network of Science, Technology and Innovation (RVCTI).

The program aims to strengthen the competitiveness of the Basque R&D&I system through the acquisition, installation or upgrading of research equipment and infrastructures, in alignment with the Basque Country’s Science, Technology and Innovation Plan 2030 (PCTI 2030) and the European framework program Horizon Europe.

Within this framework, CIC energiGUNE has obtained support for its MEA H₂ project (Preparation and testing of membrane electrode assemblies for anion exchange membrane electrolyzers), file number PZ-2024-00032. The proposal was designed considering the strategic role of hydrogen in the ongoing energy transition, as a key vector to achieve cleaner and more sustainable energy systems.

Since 2022, the center has been developing hydrogen-related technologies under the leadership of Ikerbasque Professor Paramaconi Rodríguez, head of the Electrochemical Hydrogen Technologies research group. The incorporation of new equipment at CIC energiGUNE will enable further progress in anion exchange membrane electrolyzer research, improving process efficiency and reliability, and ultimately contributing to the development of more competitive hydrogen production systems.

The equipment management plan includes several stages: procurement, room adaptation and installation, optimization of use, and finally an exploitation and training phase. This last phase aims to maximize the technological capabilities of the new equipment and strengthen CIC energiGUNE’s position as a European reference in green hydrogen research.

Through this funding, CIC energiGUNE reinforces its commitment to cutting-edge hydrogen research and to advancing energy transition and industrial sustainability in the Basque Country.