Coinciding with the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley’s first anniversary, the initiative has launched a new ambitious investment platform aiming to accelerate the integration of hydrogen-related technologies in the value chains of five industrial pilot projects.
On September 23rd and 24th, the partners of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV) will gather in Rijeka at the annual Consortium meeting to review the implementation of key projects, assess risks along the way and focus on integration into their respective social and industrial environments.
The NAHV Consortium will welcome a new partner at the meeting in Rijeka, the Municipality of Cres, which has committed to undertake the obligations from the outgoing partner ACI Marine, what will ensure the continuity of the NAHV actions without any frictions or delays. A smooth and synchronised implementation of the industrial testbeds along with other support initiatives is paramount to the overall success of the NAHV initiative.
During the event, representatives from META Group will deliver the workshop “Challenges, Priorities and Risks” designed to foster collaboration between and within Work Packages (WPs), while raising awareness about the major challenges, key priorities, and risks faced by the NAHV. Through interactive discussions and activities, participants will contribute to updating the Risk Management Report, with follow-up tasks assigned as homework. The session will also feature an icebreaking exercise, where attendees will use an initial questionnaire, to identify key challenges for both their specific WP and the NAHV overall.
This gathering will also be the perfect moment to celebrate the launch of the new North Adriatic Clean Hydrogen Investment Platform (NACHIP), a new step forward to accelerate transnational innovation actions within the Valley ecosystem.
NACHIP (North Adriatic Clean Hydrogen Investment Platform) launches in Rijeka to strengthen the North Adriatic Hydrogen Ecosystem
Hydrogen Ecosystem of the North Adriatic region comprising Croatia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Autonomous Region of Italy, and Slovenia, has been expanding thanks to a newly launched initiative North Adriatic Clean Hydrogen Investment Platform (NACHIP). A grant of 7.6 million euro has been awarded to the consortium of 12 partners from the three participating countries. The initiative represents an opportunity for up to 18 SMEs who will be selected to receive a grant of up to 60.000 euro each and join the two-tier NACHIP acceleration programme through which they be integrated in the value chains evolving around the five industrial pilot projects based on hydrogen-related technologies. Specifically, main goals of NACHIP are:
- Implement and scale-up a portfolio of investment propositions (pilots) for hydrogen-related technologies, initially as TRL 6 or higher, across selected value chains.
- Develop “local hydrogen alliances” around these pilots to anchor further development of target value chains.
- Generate an investable portfolio of hydrogen-related solutions with an acceleration program to support continuous technology maturation, dissemination, and integration into the NAHV ecosystem and beyond.
The NACHIP consortium involves 12 private and public organisations spanning Slovenia, Croatia, and the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region (FVG), Italy, led by Jožef Stefan Institute from Ljubljana. Other partners of the NACHIP consortium are: ECUBES, KSSENA, ETRA, DOK-ING, Municipality of Velenje, META Group, META Circularity, University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, Leonitus, Serichim, and Faber. All are committed to cross-border integration of hydrogen production, distribution, consumption, and clean hydrogen exchange. Collaboration will continue through governance integrated into the NAHV SPV to ensure continuity and maximise its impact.
NAHV: A flagship initiative for the implementation of the EU Hydrogen Strategy
NAHV is a transnational initiative funded through the Horizon Europe Programme comprising more than 100 delegates representing 37 project partners from three countries: Croatia, the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region in Italy, and Slovenia. 17 industrial “testbed” projects are being developed in different locations in all three partner countries, supported by a number of cross-cutting actions. The implementation of this ambitious initiative aims to facilitate the uptake of hydrogen-related solutions and enable the actors of the emerging hydrogen ecosystem of the North Adriatic for autonomous production, transmission, storage and use of renewable hydrogen as well as for their further uptake in the future.
The NAHV was awarded a grant of €25 million by Clean Hydrogen Partnership and started in September 2023 and has a duration of 72 months. Among 37 organisations that make part of the Consortium, there are: companies, universities, institutes and other public entities from the three participating countries. The partnership is led by HSE, Slovenia’s largest electricity producer and trader and the largest producer of electricity from renewable sources.
META Group, as Communication and Dissemination partner in the project, is responsible for mobilising outcomes amongst the early adopters of NAHV Key Exploitable Results (KERs), promoting best practices in renewable hydrogen for the benefit of European citizens, governments, and industry players, and raising general awareness.
As the first transnational hydrogen Valley in the EU, the NAHV represents one of its flagship initiatives in the context of the EU Hydrogen Strategy realisation, which is an important component contributing to reach the decarbonisation of the EU industry and reduce the CO2 emissions to reach the targets of the EU Green Deal.