A reliable, economic and environmentally compatible energy supply is the backbone of any modern economy. Only with the aid of new and improved technology Germany will succeed in meeting the challenges of the 21st century in the energy sector and in climate policy. The actual Germany Energy Research Programme puts special emphasis to hydrogen as a possible clean energy carrier. Therefore particular R&D programmes for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells were designed and implemented.

The proposed contribution gives an overview of the German Research and Demonstration Activities for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells. To support the development of Hydrogen and Fuel Cells there are several activities triggered by the Federal Government, Federal state initiatives, industrial alliances and demonstration projects. In order to give a comprehensive survey goals and objectives of funding programmes, actors and participations, funding mechanisms, scopes and accomplishments of R&D work will be arranged and compared.

International activities foster the networking of national knowledge with international expertise. On the European level Germany has a decisive share on demonstration projects for Hydrogen technology under the EU Framework Programme and is an important partner in the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform. On the international scale Germany cooperates e.g. under the Implementing Agreements of the International Energy Agency and the International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy. In addition to the survey of national programs the international activities will be presented in a synoptically way too.