The Clean Hydrogen Partnership today announced the launch of the Clean Hydrogen Explorer, an innovative online platform that enables users to assess where renewable hydrogen production can be developed sustainably across Europe by integrating water, climate, renewable energy and hydrogen infrastructure data into a single interactive tool.
Developed as part of the study “Sustainable paths for the use and management of water in the hydrogen value chain”, the Clean Hydrogen Explorer provides an evidence-based decision-support platform designed to help ensure Europe's hydrogen transition remains both climate resilient and water conscious.
As Europe scales up renewable hydrogen production to meet its climate and energy objectives, understanding local water availability has become increasingly important. Climate change is expected to reshape water resources across the continent, with many regions facing increased droughts, higher water stress and changing hydrological patterns. Although renewable hydrogen production is projected to represent only a modest share of total water demand, local and seasonal water constraints can significantly influence the long-term viability of hydrogen projects.
The Clean Hydrogen Explorer addresses this challenge by bringing together critical datasets that allow users to identify both opportunities and constraints for green hydrogen deployment.
The platform combines information on:
- Water availability and water stress
- Drought occurrence and climate variability
- Renewable energy production from wind, solar and hydropower
- Current and planned hydrogen production capacity
- Regional suitability for hydrogen deployment under current and future climate conditions
Through a suite of interactive dashboards, users can explore data at European, regional and local levels while comparing trends across different climate projections and planning horizons.
Key features include:
- Water dashboard: Users can analyse indicators such as the Water Exploitation Index Plus (WEI+), Aridity Index and Standardised Precipitation Index to understand water availability, water stress and drought risks across regions.
- Energy dashboard: Interactive maps and charts display renewable energy potential from solar, wind and hydropower resources, helping users understand where sufficient renewable electricity may be available to support future hydrogen projects.
- Hydrogen dashboard: The platform provides insights into existing and planned hydrogen production projects, enabling users to assess the evolving hydrogen landscape and projected growth corridors across Europe and neighbouring regions.
- Regional Analysis: Dedicated regional dashboards allow users to drill down into specific territories, comparing water, climate, energy and hydrogen indicators over time and under different climate scenarios.
- Multi-Criteria Assessment: Advanced filtering and suitability analysis tools help identify regions that combine favourable water conditions, renewable energy resources and hydrogen development potential.
Beyond its Europe-wide perspective, the platform also includes 5 dedicated case studies of Hydrogen Valley initiatives in Spain, France, Greece, Slovakia and Croatia, providing practical examples of sustainable hydrogen planning in different regional contexts, where seasonality effects, combined with local water availability conditions at water basin level, can be observed.
The Clean Hydrogen Explorer is intended to support policymakers, project developers, researchers and investors by providing transparent, science-based information to guide sustainable hydrogen investment decisions.
The platform is now publicly available, and stakeholders are encouraged to explore its interactive features, make use of its analytical tools and provide feedback to support its continued development.
Explore the Clean Hydrogen Explorer
About the Clean Hydrogen Explorer
The Clean Hydrogen Explorer is an initiative of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, developed by SoftWater with the support of RINA and the Aragón Hydrogen Foundation as part of the study “Sustainable paths for the use and management of water in the hydrogen value chain”.
- Publication date
- 8 July 2026
- Author
- Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking