Advancing Hydrogen Valleys: key learnings
On 6 May 2025, the Interreg Europe webinar “Advancing Hydrogen Valleys” brought together more than 100 participants to explore how regional hydrogen ecosystems can help Europe meet its climate and energy goals.
Hydrogen is considered essential to decarbonise the hardest-to-abate sectors, and Hydrogen Valleys, which are integrated systems combining production, storage, and use, are central to scaling up a competitive hydrogen economy.
These valleys also reinforce EU cohesion policy by fostering interregional cooperation, innovation, and investment.
Webinar recording
Watch the webinar recording and discover how regions and local policymakers are adapting their strategies towards hydrogen.
Webinar agenda
00:01:05: Introduction by Laura Varisco and Marc Pattinson to the Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform services and topic
00:17:15 : Presentation by Barbara Monaco on the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley
00:34:30: Question about the transition from Horizon Europe pilot project to another European project
00:36:31: Question about the support from policymakers and the change of perception regarding the transition towards hydrogen energy
00:41:42: Presentation by Maximo Arias Day about the hydrogen roadmap for Balearic Islands (UNLOCK project)
00:56:15: Question about the impact on tourism industry and the linkages with other Balearic islands
00:59:55: Presentation by Francisco Vigalondo on the European Hydrogen Valleys S3 partnership
01:18:34: Question about the openness of regions willing to join the partnership and take part in consultations
01:21:10: Question to all speakers about citizens engagement in the transition towards hydrogen
01:26:20: Conclusions by the speakers on the missing links in policymaking
Key messages from the speakers
The NAHV is the EU’s first transnational hydrogen valley, uniting Slovenia, Croatia, and Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. With over 120 participants and €375 million in combined investment, NAHV is building a regional market for green hydrogen. It features 17 pilot projects across hard-to-abate sectors such as transport and industry and aims to produce 5,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually. The initiative also promotes education, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory innovation, driven by an open innovation and quintuple helix approach.
Mallorca’s Green Hysland project demonstrates how local ecosystems can lead in decarbonisation. Backed by €50 million in public-private investment, the initiative is developing an electrolysis plant producing 300 tonnes of hydrogen per year. It targets applications across land and maritime transport, buildings, and energy storage. As a public-private collaboration, the project combines technological deployment with citizen engagement and long-term planning, forming the basis for future replication across other European islands. This good practice is featured by the Interreg Europe project UNLOCK.
At the European scale, the Hydrogen Valleys S3 Partnership brings together 67 regions across 13 countries. It functions as a platform for knowledge exchange, interregional investment, and policy alignment. The Partnership supports regions in accessing EU funding and designing coordinated strategies that connect hydrogen valleys across borders, helping to reduce fragmentation and scale up the hydrogen economy.
Throughout the webinar, several core themes emerged. First, stakeholder and citizen engagement is essential, not just for social acceptance but to shape innovation that meets real challenges.
Second, governance models that include academia, industry, civil society, and government (quintuple helix) are key to guiding hydrogen valleys over time.
Finally, aligning hydrogen development with Smart Specialisation Strategies helps regions anchor hydrogen innovation within their broader economic and policy frameworks.
These three initiatives show that hydrogen valleys are not one-size-fits-all. Each responds to its territory’s unique challenges and assets, but all share a common goal: accelerating the transition to a resilient, low-carbon Europe. EU funding instruments (from Horizon Europe to the Innovation Fund and the Just Transition Mechanism, and more…) are aligned to help regions move from vision to implementation.
The message from the webinar was clear: the resources are in place, the networks are active, and now is the time for policymakers to act.