H2Talk: From Hype to Pipe: How Hydrogen Valleys drive the H2 economy

European hydrogen valleys are a key component of the global energy and climate transition. They are projects comprising geographic areas, where several applications are combined into an integrated hydrogen ecosystem covering the entire value chain with significant consumption of hydrogen across multiple end-uses.

In Europe, hydrogen valleys are recognised as a fundamental way of demonstrating the viability of hydrogen technologies to improve the sustainability and energy security of regions. The EU supports hydrogen valleys development in Member States as demonstrated by the Joint Declaration on Hydrogen Valleys (signed March 2023) as well as the Staff Working Document “Towards a roadmap for accelerating the deployment of Hydrogen valleys across Europe: challenges and opportunities (published June 2024). Hydrogen valleys were also highlighted in the report of Mario Draghi on EU’s competitiveness, as a successful example of cooperation between public and private sector to accelerate technology development and drive growth in EU regions.

In Europe, parallel to policy action, funding has been allocated on an annual basis via the Clean Hydrogen Partnership to support the build-up of the regional hydrogen ecosystems. Funding was further boosted by an additional EUR 200 million in May 2022 through RePowerEU, with the intention to double their number by 2025. This action is contributing to the objectives of the European Hydrogen Strategy, the EU Green Deal, and the Fit for 55 package to decouple Europe from Russian energy dependency by 2030 and reach climate neutrality of the continent by 2050. To date, more than 20 valleys have been funded from various European funds, with ongoing funding available at least until 2027 and hopefully with continuation in the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028 - 2035. However, challenges remain, particularly related to how to secure the commitment of those who use hydrogen for decarbonisation.

On a global scale too, governments are increasing their support to hydrogen ecosystems. The US has made available USD 8 billion for large-scale hydrogen production hubs across the country, while Australia is investing AUD 500 million and South Korea has supported the establishment of three hydrogen hubs.

With this H2Talk Hydrogen Europe aimed to highlight the importance of hydrogen valleys and their role in the context of the new economic and political realities, and in line with the Clean Industrial Deal. The discussion showcased lessons learned from ongoing European and international projects and what the key factors are for their success when preparing a project that will apply hydrogen technologies in real-working environments. We discussed the importance of funding and how regions all over the globe can work together to address challenges and support the economic sustainability of hydrogen projects. Finally, the webinar aimed to assess what actions need to be taken by stakeholders to integrate valleys into the larger European hydrogen market to deliver on the ambitious targets until 2030.

Watch the video recording:

Speakers included:

• Danica Maljković, Chair, Clean Hydrogen Partnership Governing Board
• Beatrice Coda, Head of Unit of the Clean Energy transition Unit, DG RTD, European Commission
• Adam Weber, Chief Technology Officer, ARCHES
• Maribel Rodríguez Olmo, Hydrogen Business Development Manager, Repsol
• Antonio Aguilo, Project Officer, Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Moderated by Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe

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Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe