Green Hydra Dissemination Event in Latvia
On 15 April 2025, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK) hosted the “Green Hydra information morning” in Riga to spotlight progress and opportunities within the Green Hydra project, co-financed by the Interreg Europe programme. The event was opened by the Chairman of the Management Board of the LCCI, Mr. Jānis Endziņš, thus showing the importance of the energy transition in the future economy and the potential role of green hydrogen in it.
Showcasing the Green Hydra Project
The event started with a presentation of the Green Hydra project. This was used as an opportunity to remind the public of the objectives of Interreg Europe programme, highlighting interregional network building and information exchange between policy makers. The attendees then learned about Green Hydra project’s specific goals, the project partnership and locally involved stakeholders, as well as methodology. Based on the early findings of the Green Hydra project, emphasis was put on the need to enable multistakeholder cooperation (policy makers and government, industry, academia) to realise such an important evolution as the green transition represents and within it – to develop a resilient and sustainable hydrogen economy including opportunities for SMEs. Andris Bačkurs, project manager at the Latvian Hydrogen Association (Latvijas Ūdeņraža asociācija), presented the green hydrogen landscape in Latvia, comparing it to the good practice examples identified within the Green Hydra project. In fact, the regions participating in the Green Hydra project, including Latvia, are at a comparable stage of hydrogen development, particularly in areas such as mobility, education, and the creation of hydrogen valleys.
In margins of the event programme, Mr. Einārs Cilinskis, Senior Expert within the Department of Entrepreneurship Competitiveness, Ministry of Economics, who is in charge of Energy qestions and involved in the Green Hydra project to present the Hydrogen Strategy just developed by the Ministry of Economics. This spontaneous intervention provided a great example of the added value that Green Hydra offers in bringing the policy makers closer to the general public and businesses.
Panel Discussion: How to join the Green Hydrogen value chain?
The Green Hydra information morning included a dynamic panel discussion, moderated by Mr. Jānis Endziņš. The discussion served as a follow-up to the presentations on the Green Hydra project, good practice examples and the Latvian green hydrogen landscape, gathered speakers from Latvia’s public and private sectors, representing different segments within the green hydrogen value chain. Again, the participants of the panel discussion emphasized that building a successful hydrogen ecosystem requires strong cooperation between policymakers, the business sector, and the scientific community. Participants stressed the need for a clear national hydrogen strategy that encourages investment without imposing excessive regulation. Moreover, hydrogen should be seen as part of a broader bioeconomy, where multiple technologies can coexist and reinforce one another. Concerns were raised over deployment costs and competitiveness of the future Latvian green hydrogen. However, the growth of the hydrogen sector presents significant opportunities for Latvian companies to engage in innovation and expand their role in the green economy.
Advancing Interregional Synergies
The dissemination event showcased Latvia’s growing involvement in hydrogen innovation and the significance of cross-border knowledge exchange enabled by Green Hydra, among other complementary initiatives developed in Latvia.