Hydrogen Integration for Accelerated Energy Transitions (HI-ACT) Flexible Funding Secondment Call

Funding for HI-ACT researchers or industry partners to undertake secondments of up to three months at partner institutions (both academic and non-academic) within the consortium.

The Hub for Hydrogen Integration for Accelerated Energy Transitions (HI-ACT) is a £12.5 million Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)-funded research hub led by the University of Birmingham that aims to drive forward the design of a hydrogen integration plan for the UK’s energy system to help progress the UK’s transition to net-zero. The Hub comprises a consortium of 27 academics from 10 universities across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as over 40 project partners.

The HI-ACT flexible funding secondment call is available for HI-ACT researchers or industry partners to co-create research to help accelerate research into systems integration of hydrogen for the future net-zero energy transition through co-creation. Academic researchers (internal) and partners (external) can undertake secondments of up to three months at partner institutions (both academic and non-academic) within the consortium.

Secondment funding can support secondments from academic research institutions (higher education institutions, research council institutes, independent research organisation) to industry, business, governmental bodies or third sector organisations. Secondment funding may also support non-academics wanting to work with academia.

The overall purpose is to support skills development and knowledge exchange between academia and industry, public and third sector in the integration of hydrogen and future energy use. Applicants will introduce new skills, technology, disciplines, or partners to the HI-ACT Hub consortium. The secondments will need to develop the skills of researchers working in this domain and work towards a specific co-created output such as a report, publication, model, or event.

The secondment opportunity must also be mutually beneficial to the hosting organisation and to the secondee’s research and/or career development. Preference will be given to applicants who can clearly demonstrate the benefits of their secondment and how it will achieve some of the following success measures:

• Add value to the hosting organisation, through innovative outputs that contribute to solving real-world challenges in hydrogen integration, such as a specific industry-led research project; development of process/es; development of training resources; writing relevant reports and/or research papers; organising public/stakeholder engagement events etc.
• Bring wider benefits or impacts to the hosting organisation and/or the wider hydrogen community, eg social, environmental or economic impacts.
• Enhance the secondee’s knowledge, interdisciplinary skills and allow for exploration in career pathways.
• Demonstrate links to one or more HI-ACT work packages.

Secondments can be full-time, part-time or remote working (depending on hosting and home organisation requirements).

Secondments must start between 1 September 2024 and end by 31 May 2025.