FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE
GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES FUND

UK/JAPAN COLLABORATION DEVELOPMENT AWARDS:
HYDROGEN ECONOMY AND FUEL CELLS

Call for Proposals

Introduction

1. The British Embassy in Tokyo announces the first call for travel grants to support the initial stages of new collaborations between UK and Japan on research relating to the hydrogen economy and fuel cells. The total fund available for this first call will be limited to £65,000/\13 million and is open to researchers in the UK or Japan to visit each other’s countries. Each grant will be for a maximum of £5,000/\1million for a single visit.

Background

2. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is keen to build on a Workshop on the “Hydrogen Economy and Fuel Cells” which was held in Tokyo in January 2003, in co-operation with the University of Yamanashi (see http://www.ukjapanh2fc.com). This workshop provided an excellent opportunity for researchers in both countries to gain an initial understanding of the substantial research programmes in this field in each other’s countries and identified some opportunities for collaboration. In view of the growing importance of the Hydrogen Economy the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Workshop Organizing Committee are keen to ensure that the links established at this workshop and other potential links are capitalised upon as soon as possible. The purpose of this new initiative is therefore to encourage the development of collaborations between scientists and engineers in the UK and Japan in this important field. Potential collaborations could, for example, be in the areas of hydrogen production, purification or storage (in particular new materials), catalysts, SOFC, PEFC, or DMFC.

What is available?

3. The scheme is intended to support the development of collaborations between scientists and engineers in the UK and Japan in the field of the Hydrogen Economy and Fuel Cells. The grants are to support travel and subsistence either from the UK to Japan or Japan to the UK. Requests for funding can be made to spend time in the host country, visiting one or more laboratories, for example, to identify opportunities for collaboration or to discuss specific projects. The value of the overseas travel grants funded under this call will be up to a maximum of £5,000/\1million for a single visit. Costs that can be requested include international airfares plus internal travel and subsistence. All travel associated with this first call must be completed and bills submitted by Friday 5 March 2004. This funding is not available to support research projects themselves.

Outcomes

4. The purpose of these grants is to enable researchers to spend time with potential partner institutions to gain an in-depth understanding of their research and formulate proposals for future collaborative research, which can then be put to funding bodies. In submitting the application for a grant, the proposal will need to include an action plan which gives details of the main activities, including a visit timetable and potential future submissions to funding bodies. Each successful applicant will also be required to write a short report (2-3 pages), within one month of the visit, specifying the actual outcomes and action arising from discussions with their host(s).

How to apply

5. Applications should be made, in English, on the application form, accessible CAN NOT FIND FILE 300715:fco_gof.dochere.

Assessment

6. Each application will be assessed by a Peer Review Panel, either in the UK or Japan. The UK Panel will be chaired by Professor Peter Edwards, University of Birmingham and the Japan Panel by Professor Masahiro Watanabe, University of Yamanashi. The selection criteria will include:

&61607; the benefits likely to accrue from the visit
&61607; the likelihood of a collaborative research project being subsequently submitted for funding
&61607; whether the collaboration is a new linkage or an ongoing partnership
&61607; the contribution to advancing international relations between the UK and Japan

Application Deadline

7. The original of the application in English should be received by no later than 19 September 2003. We expect to notify applicants of the decisions by the beginning of October.

Further Information

7. If you need further information or have any questions please contact:
The Science and Technology Section at the British Embassy in Tokyo via e-mail: best@ninus.ocn.ne.jp

Completed applications should be sent as follows:

From researchers in the UK:

Sarah Chater
EPSRC
Polaris House
North Star Avenue
SWINDON
SN2 1ET
Email: sarah.chater@epsrc.ac.uk


From researchers in Japan:

Brian Ferrar
Science & Technology Section
British Embassy
1 Ichiban-cho
Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo
102-8381
Email: brian.ferrar@fco.gov.uk

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