A joint declaration on hydrogen valleys titled “Moving the hydrogen economy from niche to scale” was signed by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, Hydrogen Europe CEO Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, Hydrogen Europe Research President Luigi Crema, and S3 European Hydrogen Valleys Partnership co-leader Tjisse Stelpstra at the Repowering EU with Hydrogen Valleys event.
Many Hydrogen Valleys already exist in Europe today, showcasing the local hydrogen ecosystem by combining all the components of hydrogen generation, storage, transportation, and end usage in one location.
The European hydrogen industry, the scientific community, and European regions, along with the European Commission, pledged to ramp up and accelerate cooperative initiatives in the following areas in order for Europe to continue to be a leader in the development of Hydrogen Valleys:
- Reinforcing the research and innovation agenda for clean hydrogen by providing a strategic framework aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of Hydrogen Valleys,
- Continued investments in research and innovation for clean hydrogen technologies including via the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking under Horizon Europe,
- Maximise funding impact by working together to strengthen synergies,
- Promote knowledge sharing and partner matchmaking to build on the existing experience and accelerate the successful development of new projects,
- Stimulate the development of education and training for skills, building on the existing initiatives across the EU, and
- Spearhead the development of Hydrogen Valleys as steppingstones to incubate and grow a European – and by extension global – hydrogen economy
- The European Commission has allocated an additional EUR 200 million for Hydrogen Valleys, as part of REPowerEU. This will bring the EU closer to doubling the number of Hydrogen Valleys across Europe.
2023.03.01_Joint-declaration-on-Hydrogen-Valleys.pdf (hydrogeneurope.eu)
