From 2028, five thousand tons of hydrogen from the Hydrogen Valley Northern Adriatic

The Hydrogen Valley Northern Adriatic project is expected to produce five thousand tons of hydrogen annually starting in 2028, it was stated on Friday at a conference organized by the Croatian Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Italy and the Croatian-Italian Chamber of Commerce.

The Hydrogen Valley Northern Adriatic is an international project involving Croatia, Slovenia, and the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. The goal is to establish a framework for cooperation in the development of environmentally friendly hydrogen production technologies.

Vjekoslav Jukić, Head of the Energy Policy Sector at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, reminded that the Hydrogen Strategy until 2050 was published in 2022, which emphasizes interregional cooperation in research, development, and innovation, all of which is covered by the Hydrogen Valley Northern Adriatic project.

– The project includes 37 partners from three countries. It started in September last year, and the activities are divided into 11 packages – said Jukić. He added that Croatia collaborates well with both Italian and Slovenian partners, and there are also concrete economic partners with specific projects.

He mentioned the idea of establishing an institution that would gather all interested parties in hydrogen activities.

– We said we would produce at least five thousand tons of hydrogen per year from 2028 until the end of the project, and 20 percent of that hydrogen will be distributed interregionally and shared among the regions – said Jukić.

Infrastructure will also need to be built, and there are already some projects for hydrogen production and its use in Croatia, he says.

The most mature sector for hydrogen use is considered to be transport, and he would like to see hydrogen in public urban transport, with plans to eventually convert diesel locomotives to that fuel.

Marija Šćulac, Director of the Industry and Sustainable Development Sector at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, stated that the Hydrogen Valley Northern Adriatic is probably the only European project of its kind that has brought together three regionally connected countries.

She announced that 37 organizations and companies participating in the project, which is directly financed by the EU, will implement 17 pilot projects.

Hydrogen, in combination with renewable energy sources, is a unique lever for the decarbonization of the economy, or energy sector, said Šćulac.

Ivana Jukić from Active Solera stated that she participated in the development of technology in France that converts municipal waste into hydrogen.

– This is a concrete solution that offers Croatia the opportunity to become the first country in Europe to convert its waste into hydrogen. We are developing such a project on Cres, where we plan to showcase all the benefits of this technology – said Jukić.

Italian Ambassador Paolo Trichilo believes that the benefits of the hydrogen valley will transcend the borders of the three participating countries, meaning that the entire Europe could benefit.