HSE, the lead partner in the NAHV project, on behalf of the entire consortium, including the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy, last week signed with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Joint Undertaking, a contract on the co-funding of the NAHV project, involving EUR 25 million in grants. This act served as the official green light for the implementation of this transnational European project as part of the Horizon Europe programme, which is aimed at establishing a dedicated hydrogen valley. The project will be implemented as of 1 September 2023, will last 72 months and will feature seventeen pilot projects across all three partner territories.

The Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy as partner in the project will take over the task of developing policy guidelines, raising awareness and commitment among policy makers and orienting decisions towards policies that stimulate and favour innovation and adoption of hydrogen. These guidelines will also focus on the need to create a suitable legal framework regarding the production, use and commercialization of hydrogen to accelerate the creation of new markets and business opportunities.

The partnership features a total of 37 organisations (34 partners and 3 associate partners): companies, universities, institutes and other public institutions from three territories: Slovenia, Croatia and the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy. The concept of the project encompasses the entire chain of the use of renewable hydrogen, from its production, storage and distribution to its end use in various sectors, mainly industry and land and maritime transport. The project received the highest evaluation of all Hydrogen projects presented for the call and was hailed by the European Commission as a Flagship Initiative

Industrial stakeholders from all three countries will develop pilot projects to produce more than 5,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year from renewable energy sources and its storage, distribution and use. One of the most important objectives of the project is to create a renewable hydrogen market, both in terms of demand and supply, which would make it a competitive energy product of the future. By introducing advanced technologies for the utilisation of hydrogen and by developing know-how and infrastructure, the project also pursues other key objectives of the European Green Deal. In particular, it concerns the decarbonisation of major industrial sectors, such as steel and cement production, as well as sustainable transport solutions to reduce the carbon footprint. In this way, the NAHV project begins to create a comprehensive ecosystem for the transition to the use of renewable hydrogen, which includes production and service activities to meet the needs of households and citizens, thus creating the jobs of the future by planning the required skills and competencies.

After the signing of the grant agreement, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Energy, Bojan Kumer stated: "I am very pleased that the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project has received support from European funds and will now move into the implementation phase. The next few years will be crucial to develop the policy and regulatory environment that will allow hydrogen technologies to develop faster and contribute to decarbonisation across the whole economic chain. I am proud that Slovenia is part of this project together with Italy and Friuli Venezia Giulia and I hope that we will be a good example for the wider neighbourhood."