Hydrogen valleys critical to achieving a just and inclusive energy transition in Europe

“Hydrogen valleys are a critical piece of the hydrogen economy puzzle,” and are vital for the transition of the EU economy to renewable energy, said Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe.

Chatzimarkakis made the statement during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with the European Hydrogen Valleys S3 Partnership.

Chatzimarkakis emphasised that hydrogen valleys are important in empowering EU regions in the energy transition and strengthening the bloc’s hydrogen market for economic prosperity and energy security.

As part of the MoU, the two parties will work closely together to help accelerate the deployment of hydrogen across Europe to achieve greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Hydrogen Europe and S3 European Hydrogen Valleys will collaborate to increase investments within the EU hydrogen market and to ensure an increased deployment of hydrogen valleys, a development that would help ensure the cost-effective integration of the resource into the bloc’s energy mix.

The two parties claim their collaboration will help deliver a just and inclusive energy transition by ensuring that all levels of society – local, regional, national and European – are included in the development of the EU hydrogen market.

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Hydrogen Europe and S3 European Hydrogen Valleys will make sure that the rollout of projects is in line with local, state, and regional mandates while ensuring synergies across Europe.

Frederic Bonnichon, Vice-President in charge of Environment and Positive ecology in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, said: “The European Hydrogen Valleys Partnership was set up in May 2019 with 20 regions. It now gathers more than 55 regional and local authorities, all actively engaged in supporting the development of projects along the whole hydrogen value chain, making it the number one European network of local authorities dedicated to hydrogen”. 

Hubert Dejean de la Bâtie, Vice President of the Regional Council of Normandy, reiterated: “In order to achieve the goals set by the Paris climate agreement and recalled in the EU Green Deal, it is crucial to reinforce the links between industrial players and local authorities. This will help setting-up bigger projects with a real impact on the ground.”

A hydrogen valley is a geographical area where several hydrogen applications are combined into an integrated ecosystem that covers the entire value chain from production, storage distribution, and final use.