On the photo from the left: Tina Seršen, State Secretary of Energy in the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Energy of the Republic of Slovenia,
Tomaž Štukelj, CEO, HSE and Ivo Milatić, State Secretary from the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of the Republic of Croatia
Institutional representatives of the three participating territories, Croatia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Slovenia, respectively State Secretary Ivo Milatić, Regional Councillor Pierpaolo Roberti on behalf of President Massimiliano Fedriga, and State Secretary Tina Sersen, welcomed the participants of the NAHV kick-off meeting in Portorož together with Dr Tomaž Štokelj, CEO of HSE, the lead partner. Later in the day they addressed the public at the press conference, together with Antonio Aguilo Rullan of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Joint Undertaking. Here are their statements.
Statements
Tomaž Štokelj, CEO of HSE, the lead partner of the NAHV, said: “HSE Group is a leading protagonist of Slovenia’s green transition, which brings with it great responsibility. All our development projects are directed towards the decarbonisation and sustainable transformation of the Slovenian energy sector, and therefore of Slovenia as a whole, and the NAHV project is fully consistent with this vision. Hydrogen is emerging as one of the key energy sources of the future, as it will make an important contribution to achieving both the national targets and the key objectives of the European Green Deal. I am therefore particularly proud that HSE is the lead partner in the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley, and I am looking forward to working together with the other partners and overcoming our common challenges. We have an exciting and, above all, rewarding six years of collaboration ahead of us, to deploy advanced renewable hydrogen technologies and develop the skills and infrastructure related to their use as one of the building blocks of the Green Transition. I am confident that we will make the most of them.”
“Dealing with the topic of energy transition doesn’t imply a radical approach; on the contrary, our aim is to combine economic growth, sustainability, and public health in a wide-ranging perspective, focused on both the material and immaterial wealth of future generations. Such an approach can be identified in Friuli Venezia Giulia’s active role within the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project, an ambitious cross-border initiative, bound to strengthen cooperation on a transnational basis, and targeted to cope with the needs of our local communities,” said Massimiliano Fedriga, President of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region, at the launch of the NAHV.
Ivo Milatić, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of the Republic of Croatia: „The NAHV project will elevate the hydrogen economy and mark all three territories as hydrogen friendly. We aim to be an important lever in the creation of clean, strong and sustainable economy. “
Tina Seršen, State Secretary at the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy of the Republic of Slovenia emphasised that the NAHV project is of great importance for the future of hydrogen application in our territories. The future activities of the project will start shaping the opportunities and new ways of making our economies more sustainable. “I expect that by 2030 hydrogen solutions should play a much more prominent role in achieving our decarbonisation goals,” she concluded.
It is essential to comprehend the research and innovative character of the initiative and its long-term impact on the countries hosting the initiative, along with its cross-border dimension.
“The NAHV is launching the creation of a comprehensive ecosystem for the transition to renewable hydrogen, integrating production and service activities and the needs of households and citizens, and creating the jobs of the future through the design of the necessary skills and competences,” said Stephen Taylor, Strategic Coordinator of the NAHV Joint Task Force, whose primary concern is the coherent management of the project and the integration of new projects and partners into this emerging transnational ecosystem.
“The Clean Hydrogen Partnership is proud to support the creation of the first integrated and transnational green hydrogen ecosystem in the north Adriatic region with a 25 million grant,“ said Mirela Atanasiu, Interim Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. “The project will contribute to the European Commission’s ambitions of doubling the numbers of Hydrogen Valleys in Europe, and advance the decarbonisation of the energy, transport and industry sectors whilst contributing to job creation and economic growth in the region. With its impressive collaboration of 37 public and private organisations from Slovenia, Italy and Croatia, the North Adriatic cross-border Hydrogen Valley reflects the true European and collaborative nature of the project, and can serve as a blueprint for similar Hydrogen Valleys across and beyond Europe.”
