Hydrogen Valleys: European Commission signs joint declaration with European stakeholders to boost the EU hydrogen economy

Through this declaration, the Commission together with the European hydrogen industry, scientific community, and European regions, commit to stepping up and accelerating joint actions in research, development, demonstration, and deployment of Hydrogen Valleys.

The joint declaration also calls for sustained investments, strengthening synergies between funding resources, sharing knowledge, stimulating the development of education and training for skills, and building regional hydrogen networks and interconnections between Hydrogen Valleys.

To accelerate the deployment of Hydrogen Valleys across Europe and implement REPowerEU and the New European Innovation Agenda, Commissioner Gabriel will present a roadmap later in 2023. The challenges and opportunities faced by the actors of the hydrogen value chain will provide key input for its drafting.

Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth said:

Hydrogen Valleys are key for the creation of a European research and innovation area for hydrogen. They prove that European cooperation can catalyse innovation, create jobs and opportunities while tackling the great energy challenges of our times. And we will rapidly hit the target of doubling the number of operational Hydrogen Valleys by 2025.

The event "Repowering EU with hydrogen valleys" was organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation, and supported by Hydrogen Europe, Hydrogen Europe Research and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. It followed a workshop organised by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership on 28 February-1 March that discussed practical ways for doubling the number of valleys by 2025 and building-up skills. 

In line with the EU Hydrogen Strategy and contributing to the REPowerEU Plan and the Green Deal Industrial Plan objectives, hydrogen valleys connect hydrogen production, transportation, and a range of cutting-edge applications - from clean mobility to industrial feedstock - creating fully functional and sustainable clusters of supply and demand, advancing renewable hydrogen deployment and as a result driving forward the clean energy transition.

Years of support to research and innovation on hydrogen have put the EU in the global lead for key hydrogen technologies, notably electrolysers, hydrogen refuelling stations and megawatt-scale fuel cells. Horizon Europe supports the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (CHJU) with €1 billion, matched by the same amount from industry and research partners. As part of REPowerEU, the Commission has allocated an additional €200 million to the CHJU to accelerate the rollout of Hydrogen Valleys. The Commission also recently granted approximately €4 million under Erasmus+ for a long-term partnership between industry and education to develop advanced skills for the hydrogen economy.

The declaration can be consulted here.

More information is available on the European Commission page: 

Hydrogen Valleys strategic for the autonomy of the EU (europa.eu) and

Hydrogen Valleys: European Commission signs joint declaration with European stakeholders to boost the EU hydrogen economy (europa.eu)

Videos and photos of the event are available here: EC AV PORTAL (europa.eu)