Objective
Climate neutrality by the middle of the 21st century is the declared goal of Germany and the EU. Green hydrogen is an important component in the transformation of the energy sector and the decarbonization of emission-intensive sectors. Within the framework of the German and the European hydrogen strategies, we intend to recruit and qualify future specialists and young scientists. In addition, international cooperation, especially in the European Research Area, shall be strengthened and interdisciplinarity and innovative capabilities promoted. The ERA Fellowships – Green Hydrogen programme, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), is complemented by comprehensive networking measures and the establishment of four working groups. Fellows will continue to be involved in those after the end of the funding period and thus will both receive and offer long-term support from and to the German research and innovation location for green hydrogen.
Who can apply?
Graduate students who are interested in any topics related to Green Hydrogen (GH2) and want to be an active part in one of the four working groups:
Students enrolled in universities in the following countries are eligible for the GH2 program: EU member states, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Ghana, Island, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Mexico, Morocco, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Togo, Türkiye, Tunisia, Ukraine, USA, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
- Production
- Transport and Infrastructure
- Market stimulation (i.e. further development of the market for hydrogen)
- cross-cutting issues (i.e. regulation, socio-economic and legal framework)
Students enrolled in universities in the following countries are eligible for the GH2 program: EU member states, Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Ghana, Island, Israel, Japan, Kosovo, Mexico, Morocco, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Togo, Türkiye, Tunisia, Ukraine, USA, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.
What can be funded?
The programme provides funding for
- a Master’s degree programme (programmes with 90 ECTS/3 semesters) completed at a state or state-recognised university in Germany
- up to one year of study in Germany as part of a Master’s degree programme. The general condition is that the academic credits you gain in Germany are recognised by your home university. Moreover, the standard period of study at your home university should not be exceeded as a result of the study year in Germany
- a Master’s thesis as part of an international Master’s degree programme completed at a state or state-recognised university, a research institute or a company in Germany
or - a self-organized internship in a company or at a non-university institution in the field of GH2 in Germany.
Duration of the funding
Funding for the fellowship programme is available until the end of 2026.
Depending on the length of the selected programme, the fellowship is intended for stays of at least 3 months, for a Master’s thesis between 2 and 6 months, and for internships between 2 and 3 months.
The fellowships are awarded for the duration of the standard period of study for the chosen programme (up to a maximum of 18 months). Please state the entire period for which you wish to apply for funding in your application. For example, if you are planning a 3-semester degree programme, you must directly indicate 18 months as the desired fellowship duration in your application. After the first year of study, your academic achievements will be assessed in a review process. If this shows that you will successfully complete your programme within a reasonable period of time, the fellowship will continue as planned.
Depending on the length of the selected programme, the fellowship is intended for stays of at least 3 months, for a Master’s thesis between 2 and 6 months, and for internships between 2 and 3 months.
The fellowships are awarded for the duration of the standard period of study for the chosen programme (up to a maximum of 18 months). Please state the entire period for which you wish to apply for funding in your application. For example, if you are planning a 3-semester degree programme, you must directly indicate 18 months as the desired fellowship duration in your application. After the first year of study, your academic achievements will be assessed in a review process. If this shows that you will successfully complete your programme within a reasonable period of time, the fellowship will continue as planned.
Value
The fellowship covers:
- a monthly fellowship instalment of 992 Euros
- payments towards health, accident and personal liability insurance cover
- a lump sum towards international travel costs
- if the fellowship is awarded for more than six months: one-off study allowance of 460 Euros)
- if the fellowship is awarded for more than six months: Monthly rent subsidy
- if the fellowship is awarded for more than six months: Monthly allowance for accompanying members of family. Please also read our Important Scholarship Information / section F, point 3
- In the case of a disability or chronic illness: subsidy for additional costs which result from the disability or chronic illness and are not covered by other funding providers: Further information
- Green Mobility Top Up (support for climate-friendly travel) or reimbursement of carbon offset payments for air travel
- grant for participation in conferences related to GH2
- if the fellowship is awarded for at least twelve months and commences in April or October: German language course of 2 months starting in February or August before the start of the study stay in Germany. Participation in a language course is compulsory if the study programme is taught in German. If you are interested in the participation of a preparatory language course, please indicate this in your application and your schedule.
- if the fellowship is awarded for more than six months:
- Payment of course fees for an online German language course after receipt of the Fellowship Award Letter
- allowance for a personally chosen German language course during the fellowship period
- reimbursement of the fee for a TestDaF or DSH test, which you can take either in your home country after you have received your Letter of Award or in Germany during your funding period.
Selection
The selection committees are composed according to subject and, if applicable, regional criteria. The committee members are appointed by the DAAD Executive Board and are primarily university teachers from German universities and . They evaluate the applications and decide on the awarding of the fellowships. DAAD staff members organize the meeting but have no voting rights.
The Selection criteria are:
Academic qualification
The Selection criteria are:
Academic qualification
- Academic achievements
- Course of studies
- Knowledge of the language of instruction or working language
- If applicable, relevant internships, work experience
- Quality of the project and of the preparation (preliminary information, choice of degree programme or internship, host university or institution and establishment of contacts)
- Integration of the project into the course of study, if relevant
- Motivation: academic and personal reasons for the stay in Germany, German language skills (if different from the working language)
- Prospects: Significance of the stay in Germany for further academic, professional and personal development, use of international networking in the working groups as well as own active contribution in the working groups
- Extracurricular commitment: extracurricular knowledge and skills, social commitment
What requirements must be met?
Please check if the following criteria are fulfilled:
- As a rule, your university degree should not date back more than 6 years at the time of the application deadline. Please read our Important Scholarship Information / Section A, point 2.
- Your application cannot be considered, if you have been resident in Germany for longer than 15 months at the application deadline.
- Please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that your application for admission to the German university for your selected study programme is submitted by the due date. It is therefore important that you inform yourself about admission requirements, application and enrolment deadlines at your host university and regulations regarding entry into Germany in good time. If you have not yet received notification of admission at the time of application, you can submit this at a later stage, latest by the start of the funding period. A Letter of Award from the DAAD is only valid if you have been admitted to study at your chosen host university.
- If the degree programme includes a period of study or work placement outside Germany lasting several months, this period abroad is usually only funded under the following conditions:
The study stay is essential for achievement of the fellowship objective, does not take place in the home country, and is no longer than a quarter of the fellowship period. Longer periods cannot be funded, even partially.
- Applicants must be enrolled at their home university.
- Funding is only available from the starting date of the internship.
Language skills
The language of instruction for most study programmes in Germany is German. In international programmes, the language of instruction is English, or both German and English.
Application deadline
Applications can be submitted anytime from August 15 until November 5, 2024.
The selection meeting will be held in January 2025. The fellowship can be commenced earliest (at the beginning of each month) from March 1, 2025. If you plan on starting your fellowship later than August 1, 2025, please apply during our next call for applications (in the spring of 2025).
Funding for the fellowship programme is available until the end of 2026.
The selection meeting will be held in January 2025. The fellowship can be commenced earliest (at the beginning of each month) from March 1, 2025. If you plan on starting your fellowship later than August 1, 2025, please apply during our next call for applications (in the spring of 2025).
Funding for the fellowship programme is available until the end of 2026.
Application documents
Certificates, proof of credits, certifications and translations may be scanned in non-certified form and uploaded to the DAAD portal. The DAAD reserves the right to request certified copies of the documents.
Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:
Documents that are not yet available by the application deadline (e.g. the letter of admission) can be submitted later. Please upload a free-form statement to your application in which you explain why the documents are not at hand yet and when they will be available.
Documents to be uploaded to the DAAD portal:
- Online application form
- Full curriculum vitae in tabular form (max. 3 pages)
- Study plan including a schedule (max. 3 pages): detailed description of your planned study programme/project/internship in Germany
- If you are planning to do a Master’s programme in Germany, you must submit the form "Information about your preferred master programmes"
- Letter of motivation (1-3 pages) which includes a statement about academic and personal reasons for the planned project in Germany and in which is clearly mentioned in which working group you would like to actively participate. Please also read our Important Scholarship Information / Section B, Point 1.
- Letter of admission to the study programme at the host university or a confirmation by the host institution of your internship in Germany. If you have not yet received notification of admission/confirmation at the time of application, you can submit this at a later stage, latest by the start of the funding period.
- Current overview of grades/ transcript of records with individual grades
- University degree certificate and transcript of records for your last degree programme: the certificate must be subsequently submitted by the time funding starts if you have not yet completed your programme at the time of application.
- Proof of knowledge of language(s) of instruction in the chosen study programme or internship (should not be older than 2 years). Please submit certificates via the DAAD portal even if the university does not require proof of language skills.
- Other documents you think might be of relevance to your application (e.g. certificates of employment, proof of extracurricular engagement)
- English translations of documents submitted in the national language (to be uploaded with the corresponding documents)
- One recent letter of recommendation from a university teacher which provides information about your qualifications. Please regard the instructions given on the tab “Submitting an application”.
Documents that are not yet available by the application deadline (e.g. the letter of admission) can be submitted later. Please upload a free-form statement to your application in which you explain why the documents are not at hand yet and when they will be available.
The application procedure occurs online through the DAAD portal.
Please note that the access to the application portal only appears while the current application period is running. After the application deadline has expired, the portal for this programme is not available until the next application period.
Please note that the access to the application portal only appears while the current application period is running. After the application deadline has expired, the portal for this programme is not available until the next application period.
Application location
You submit your application via the DAAD online portal, including the letter of recommendation.
Alternatively, the University teacher writing the letter of recommendation may upload it to our reference database himself/herself.
Alternatively, the University teacher writing the letter of recommendation may upload it to our reference database himself/herself.
Information and advisory centres
Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
German Academic Exchange Service
Section ST43 – Research Fellowship Programmes
Team Green Hydrogen
Kennedyallee 50
53175 Bonn
E-Mail: gh2@daad.de
German Academic Exchange Service
Section ST43 – Research Fellowship Programmes
Team Green Hydrogen
Kennedyallee 50
53175 Bonn
E-Mail: gh2@daad.de
More detailed information
Additional information about the fellowship programme and the four working groups can be found at www.daad.de/gh2. There you will also find a short checklist for the application documents.
General information on the application via DAAD portal
You can access the DAAD portal by clicking "Application portal" at the end of the page. Here you will find an online application form in which you can enter your application data.
This is what you have to do:
1. Register in the DAAD portal
2. Request recommendation form
You can generate the recommendation form in the DAAD Portal as a writable PDF under 'Request recommendation form'. Please send it to your referee and ask him or her to complete the form in full. When you have received it back, please upload it during the application process in the portal.
Alternatively, the referee can submit the form to our reference database (see tab 'Application procedure' under 'Application location').
Please note that the form for completion by a referee can only be generated during the application period.
3. Applying online in the DAAD portal
Please note:
If you have any technical questions or problems your local information and advice centres could not help you with, please do not hesitate to contact our technical Portal support via e-mail portal@daad.de.
Please consider possible processing times of your request when you are planning your application.
This is what you have to do:
1. Register in the DAAD portal
2. Request recommendation form
You can generate the recommendation form in the DAAD Portal as a writable PDF under 'Request recommendation form'. Please send it to your referee and ask him or her to complete the form in full. When you have received it back, please upload it during the application process in the portal.
Alternatively, the referee can submit the form to our reference database (see tab 'Application procedure' under 'Application location').
Please note that the form for completion by a referee can only be generated during the application period.
3. Applying online in the DAAD portal
- Prepare application documents
- If necessary, translate documents (unless they are already in German or English).
- Scan paper documents and save in PDF format. Please note that you can only upload PDF files to the portal.
- Fill out the application form and upload the other application documents to the portal in PDF format. Translations, if applicable, should be uploaded together with the document issued in the original language.
- Submit the uploaded application documents online.
Please note:
If you have any technical questions or problems your local information and advice centres could not help you with, please do not hesitate to contact our technical Portal support via e-mail portal@daad.de.
Please consider possible processing times of your request when you are planning your application.
