Highlights from Hydrogen as an important factor of the Green Transition: Challenges and Opportunities Conference

Interest is rising among multiple participants of the evolving hydrogen economy. A tight and a very informative agenda reflected a vibrant hydrogen community arising around the Quadruple Helix concept of the NAHV at the event organised on Monday, 10th June 2024 by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy of Slovenia (MOPE), a partner in our Horizon Europe initiative. The conference titled

Hydrogen as one of the important factors of the Green Transition: Challenges and Opportunities

was organised in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and was a part of the dissemination activities under the work plan of the NAHV. Janez Blaž, from MOPE, a member of the NAHV Joint Working Group, stressed in his concluding remarks that shared progress of multiple actors and cooperation among them significantly contribute to the success of the evolution of the NAHV ecosystem and announced the intention of the Ministry to organise another such meeting in a year time.

State secretary Tina Sršen of MOPE made the introduction to the conference programme following the opening remarks by Vesna Nahtigal, General director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

As part of the ambition to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal aiming at carbon neutrality by 2050 and a significant reduction of CO2 emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 the conference was dedicated to an overview hydrogen technologies and ecosystems.

The NAHV is recognised as a leading initiative among hydrogen valleys in Europe. The NAHV consortium includes partners from Croatia Italy – Friuli-Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region – and Slovenia and has been awarded a €25 million grant from the European Clean Hydrogen Partnership under the Horizon Europe programme, confirming its importance in contributing to the achievement of Europe’s objectives related to the Green transition. Jerneja Sedlar of HSE, NAHV Coordinator, exposed several ongoing initiatives in her comprehensive presentation which represent opportunities of more stakeholders to join the NAHV ecosystem. Noticeably, NACHIP acceleration programme, an initiative awarded €7.6 million by I3 programme, will be launched in September, what creates new opportunities for SMEs who might apply for cascade financing grants. All stakeholders have been invited to join the NAHV Stakeholder Advisory Forum (SAF) through an application available at the NAHV website.

The conference was set up as a forum of exchange of knowledge and ideas between industry pioneers, academic and research experts and business and policy decision makers, aiming to stimulate dialogue and cooperation to develop more efficient solutions in hydrogen technologies and contribute to the market uptake.