\u201cGroningen was the biggest natural gas field of Europe. It had all the jobs and the infrastructure and the expertise, and a lot of money came in through natural gas, and now we would be missing out on it,\u201d recalls Geerte de Jong, project manager at HEAVENN<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recognising the potential, the EU funded Europe\u2018s first \u201cHydrogen Valley\u201d in the Netherlands in 2020<\/strong>, backed by \u20ac20 million from the Horizon 2020 programme – and supplemented by \u20ac70 to \u20ac80 million in public-private co-financing.<\/p>\n HEAVENN \u2013 short for \u201cHydrogen Energy Applications in Valley Environments for Northern Netherlands\u201d \u2013 aimed to show that the entire hydrogen value chain \u2013 production, storage, transport and end-use \u2013 can be integrated within a single regional ecosystem<\/strong>, serving as a blueprint for Europe. \u201cWe are the original hydrogen valley, the earliest, and that\u2018s why it\u2018s the pioneering valley,\u201d de Jong says.<\/p>\n The project centres on four clusters: the Eemshaven port area, the Emmen industrial park, and two thematic clusters focused on mobility and the built environment. After six years de Jong offers a mixed review: storage and end-use are working well, but transport and production lag behind<\/strong>. \u201cThe end-users are for the most part operating quite well \u2013 but the hydrogen production is extremely late,\u201d she says. Mobility, by contrast, is a clear success: \u201cIt\u2018s easier to purchase a vehicle than build a factory. [\u2026] I would say all of mobility [\u2026] they\u2018re all done.\u201d<\/p>\n HEAVENN’s main contribution, however, lies in knowledge transfer. “The blueprint for Europe – I think it’s not always a literal one. It’s more of an information exchange,” de Jong explains. The Clean Hydrogen Partnership<\/a> now counts more than 100 Hydrogen Valleys globally<\/a><\/strong>, many of which have drawn on HEAVENN’s insights, even if there is rarely a “one size fits all” solution.<\/p>\n \u201cThese first attempts are necessary, even if not all hydrogen valleys will have a future. It is like when 30 years ago solar energy came out \u2013 it was expensive, complex and not efficient to begin with<\/strong>. Today, Europe faces a historic decision: either to continue supporting the development of the hydrogen sector and maintain its energy and technological sovereignty, or to cede leadership to other countries, as happened with solar energy,\u201d notes Alberto Soraci, technologist at AREA Science Park<\/a> in Trieste, Italy, involved in the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley<\/a> and coordinator of the North Adriatic Smart Communities Hydrogen Accelerator.<\/p>\n The concept extends well beyond regional energy initiatives, as shown by BalticSeaH2<\/a>, named best European Hydrogen Valley<\/a><\/strong> by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership in 2025.<\/p>\n Jatta Jussila, CEO of CLIC Innovation Oy and Project Coordinator of BalticSeaH2<\/a>, explains the vision behind one of the field’s most ambitious initiatives, which aims to move toward a full hydrogen economy<\/strong>: \u201cHydrogen is not just an energy carrier. It’s also a material that is used in several industries, for example in the fertilizer industry, or as a feedstockl. When we talk about a full hydrogen economy, it encompasses both hydrogen’s role as an energy carrier and its value as a material. And it actually serves as an enabler for a full sustainability transition across industries.\u201d Two years in, the project has its first successes. The first production plant in Harjavalta is now online, generating 3,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, with a target of 60,000 tons by the project’s end<\/a>. The rapid progress was possible because the Baltic region already had a highly decarbonised electricity market and relatively low power prices – Hydrogen Valleys are not necessarily in competition; the focus is on mutual learning and networking. This is evident in Castile and Le\u00f3n, in the heart of Spain, where a Hydrogen Valley is being developed for entirely different reasons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n “Our region is one of the largest in Europe and actually one of the most depopulated ones. We have a lot of available land […]. And also, we are in the middle of Spain. That means that we are in the middle of the main hydrogen corridors that are supposed to be implemented by 2030 – approximately all the hydrogen produced in Spain and exported to the rest of Europe will pass through our region<\/strong>,” explains Ismael Lozano Gabarre of the CARTIF Technology Centre<\/a> and coordinator of the Castilla y Le\u00f3n Hydrogen Valley (CyLH2Valley)<\/a>, a project co-funded by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership<\/a>.<\/p>\n The CyLH2Valley spans eleven pilot plants across the mobility, energy and industrial sectors<\/a>, covering production, distribution and end-use<\/strong>. Two plants produce green hydrogen directly, while two others use it to make derivatives such as methanol and ammonia – the latter mainly benefiting agriculture. “One of the most important sectors in the region is agriculture – and agriculture needs fertilizers. One of the main components is ammonia. And green ammonia uses green hydrogen,” Lozano Gabarre explains. In Burgos, green hydrogen will power public transit and fuel-cell trucks<\/strong>, with plans to supply a hospital and an aluminium factory with a natural gas-hydrogen blend.<\/p>\n With 36 partners – 27 of them Spanish, mostly local – and \u20ac19.5 million in EU funding, CyLH2 is deeply rooted in the region. Total investment exceeds \u20ac400 million, targeting more than 19,000 tons of green hydrogen per year. Calling the project a “pilot” is a matter of perspective: “We call them pilots but they are real applications in the industry<\/strong>,” Lozano Gabarre notes. The ultimate aim is to create durable, high-quality local jobs: “We are losing population year by year. One option to get them here is implementing these kinds of plants with real jobs – quality jobs.”<\/p>\n The project is expected to create up to 2,000 jobs<\/strong> – across the entire spectrum of skills and qualifications. \u201cThe plants will need people with a high level of education for the designing \u2013 but also people to operate and maintain them. The establishment of this new economy will suppose a lot of people involved, that could come from more traditional sectors and will need education and training”, says Lozano Gabarre. For this region – losing people to bigger urban centres in the country<\/a> – this is an opportunity to reverse the trend. Whether that vision becomes reality depends on broader European policy. The obstacles are virtually identical everywhere – price, regulation and demand<\/strong> – as is the difficulty of aligning political will with all three. Two regulations are central: the Renewable Energy Directive (RED III)<\/a> and the new Emissions Trading System 2 (EU-ETS2)<\/a><\/strong>. The latter aims to raise the cost of fossil-fuel heating and transport but will not fully take effect until 2028, while RED III must be transposed into national law – a process facing delays. This uncertainty stalls investment, de Jong confirms:<\/p>\n “Entrepreneurs say: I need to make 100% sure that the regulation is going to be acted on […]. To not have enough clarity leads to inaction.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Regulatory clarity could stimulate the demand needed to build hydrogen ecosystems, but geopolitical crises complicate long-term decisions further<\/strong>. “Getting rid of uncertainty and creating strong demand signals in all end-use sectors would be something that is needed for the private sector to make their investment decisions. That’s partly in the hands of the EU – but partly in the hands of those driving geopolitical uncertainty,” Jussila says.<\/p>\n Still, Soraci urges stakeholders not to give up too soon: “You are going to climb the hill. If at a certain moment you are close to the top and you stop […], you will fall down. You need to reach the top and then things will be easier.”<\/p>\n Whether or not hydrogen valleys can become the backbone of Europe’s energy transition ultimately depends on closing the gap between legislation and its implementation<\/strong>. Without the necessary political support, there is a risk of stagnation just as the technology reaches maturity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo credits: Heavenn. Courtesy: Hystock, Delfzijl<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hydrogen valleys worldwide are putting the entire value chain into practice. Know-how is building, but fluctuating prices, regulatory uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions are holding back investment – at a time when the technology could soon be ready for the market. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":886,"template":"","news_category":[3],"class_list":["post-878","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news_category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHydrogen valleys: work in progress<\/h2>\n
![\"Diagram](\"https:\/\/castillayleonh2valley.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/HyStock-explanation-300x169.png\")
Crossing borders: BalticSeaH2\u2018s plan<\/h2>\n
\nThe project is also defined by its international scope. \u201cWe have taken this cross-border approach – the hydrogen economy will be an international business. To build something in silos, in really regional small blocks, will not advance the entire economy<\/strong>,\u201d Jussila says.<\/p>\n
\na factor that favours hydrogen production.<\/p>\nCastile and Le\u00f3n: local aspiration, regional transformation<\/h2>\n
\nFurthermore, the ambition goes beyond Castile and Le\u00f3n: \u201cIn Spain, only one region \u2013 on the island of Mallorca \u2013 has implemented a similar project. We can be an example for other regions to implement this kind of ecosystem and to accelerate the implementation of hydrogen<\/strong>\u201d, concludes Lozano Gabarre.<\/p>\nDoes Europe’s hydrogen potential remain untapped?<\/h2>\n
\nAccording to the 2025 IEA Global Hydrogen Review<\/a>, the price gap between low-emission and fossil-based hydrogen remains a major barrier<\/strong>, a point experts confirm. “Nowadays hydrogen is more expensive than the competitor, which is usually natural gas. So only the people who are […] willing to reduce their emissions are implementing hydrogen. Or they are obliged by some regulation,” says Lozano Gabarre. Soraci agrees: “At the moment it’s the price gap that is the main obstacle – and then the regulatory. We don’t even have a standardized approach on how to deal with hydrogen at European level.”<\/p>\n