The BH2C presents its projects and latest developments in the "Hydrogen Valleys"session at the EHEC 2024 in Bilbao.

José Ignacio Hormaeche, Director of the Energy Cluster and BH2C board member, presented the Basque Hydrogen Corridor in the plenary session "Cross-sectoral synergies: the role of hydrogen valleys", at the European Hydrogen Energy Conference (EHEC) 2024.

In his talk, Mr. Hormaeche highlighted the factors that make the Basque Country a region with considerable opportunities in the field of hydrogen: its strategic location, the weight in its economy of the industrial sectors to be decarbonised, and the technological and industrial capabilities of its value chain. In this context, he explained Petronor's strategy to commission 3 electrolysers (2.5, 10 and 100 MW) in the coming years, as a basis and reference for the 52 projects and 73 companies and organisations that currently make up the BH2C, and outlined the stand-out achievements and milestones to date of the projects underway.

He then detailed how the BH2C is aligned with the "Net Zero Basque Industrial Supercluster" initiative promoted by the Basque Government, which has defined roadmaps for the decarbonisation of the highest CO2 emitting industrial sectors on account of their energy consumption levels.

At the end of his intervention, Mr. Hormaeche highlighted as success factors the different activities which cut across all the projects being taken forward within the BH2C, such as the Abanto Technology Park, the Hydrogen "Knowledge Classroom" (in which universities and Vocational Training Centres of the Basque Country are taking active part) and the Hydrogen Sector Forum of the Energy Cluster, which over the last 3 years has become a meeting point for more than 150 companies and players in the value chain to share their experiences.

In the same parallel session, Rosalinde Van Der Vlies, Director of Clean Planet in the European Commission Directorate General for Research and Innovation and Deputy Mission Manager of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, spoke about the BH2C as a role-model hydrogen valley, highlighting its strengths and its positioning capacity.