North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project set to kick off in September 2023

July 27, 2023, by Ajsa Habibic

The North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV) project, a transnational project by Slovenia, Croatia and the Italian Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, has received the official green light for its implementation as of 1 September 2023.

Last week, Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), the leading partner in the project, signed a contract with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Joint Undertaking on the co-funding, involving €25 million in grants.

The project, which aims to establish a dedicated hydrogen valley, is being developed by a consortium involving 37 organisations: companies, universities, institutes and other public institutions from three counties.

The concept encompasses the entire chain of renewable hydrogen use, from production to storage and distribution to its end use in various sectors, mainly industry, and land and maritime transport.

Set to start at the beginning of September, the NAHV project will take 72 months and feature 17 pilot projects in various locations in all three partner countries.

Industrial stakeholders from Slovenia, Croatia and Italy will develop pilot projects for the production of more than 5,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year from renewable energy sources and its storage, distribution and use.

“We are proud that the exceptionally interesting and promising North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project has been declared one of the best in the Horizon Europe tender and that we are a leading partner in it,” said Tomaž Štokelj, CEO of HSE.

As part of the total of 5,000 tonnes of hydrogen that has been forecast, infrastructure for the production of up to 3,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year is to be installed in the area of the Šoštanj Thermal Power Plant (TEŠ), which will further contribute to the just transition of this coal region.

“The hydrogen valley project is fully compliant with the vision of HSE – the spearhead of Slovenia’s green transition. Hydrogen is one of the key energy products of the future, enabling us to make a significant contribution to achieving national and European goals in the field of decarbonisation, while at the same time putting Slovenia on the global map of hydrogen valleys. The NAHV project has already been placed on the Mission Innovation Hydrogen Valley Platform, which is managed by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, a European association for hydrogen,” added Štokelj.