The project’s current goal is to help European SMEs and wind energy enterprises develop a green hydrogen supply chain. With a kick-off meeting in Copenhagen, the partners officially began the second phase of the Inn2POWER project.
The partnership will help SMEs create global business models in the domains of wind energy and green hydrogen until mid-2023. Partners in the project will look for ways to collaborate and increase access to test and demonstration facilities, as well as innovation and international business support services.
The project’s second phase builds on the consortium members’ efforts in the first phase, which began in 2016 and saw the team effectively enable enterprises in the offshore wind industry to collaborate and reach new markets. In mid-2021, the German Interreg advisory network designated the initiative “Interreg Project of the Month.”
The Inn2POWER consortium will now help identify SME collaboration possibilities and demonstrate how cooperatively produced plans for shared and innovative testing and logistics facilities for SMEs may lead to value chain improvements. “We want to make sure that SMEs, which are critical for employment and value creation across Europe,” said the project partners, “are incorporated in a future strategy for the European wind sector and the burgeoning hydrogen economy.”
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the wind sector perceive economic potential in the green hydrogen supply chain and are assisted in establishing and enhancing attractive collaborations. The inclusion of green hydrogen competencies of SMEs in the web-based matching tool would provide insight into the knowledge and skills existent in the clusters.
In addition, project partners are hosting a number of international B2B events for SMEs to explore partnership potential. The Inn2POWER partners will help create international business cases and SMEs trial innovative collaborations. The partners seek to build an integrated platform containing data on the green hydrogen economy to complement the existing mapping tool, the “Address book of the European offshore wind supply chain.” The database will include data on the green hydrogen supply chain, testing facilities, and organizations that assist innovation, research, and business development.
“Because green hydrogen will play a major role in Europe’s transition to net-zero emissions,” the partners add, “creating a green hydrogen market and commercializing associated technologies will create skilled employment throughout the continent.” “The convergence of the wind, marine, and burgeoning hydrogen economies presents enormous employment and export opportunities for SMEs in Europe, particularly in coastal locations,” they continue.
Despite its huge economic potential, green hydrogen’s growth and position in the future energy system are strongly reliant on political and hence public support. With many publications highlighting the successes and potential of the green hydrogen sector, the Inn2POWER project partners will work to promote the acceptability of “green” hydrogen.
