According to McKinsey research the coming decade will likely be a defining one for the global energy system. At the same time there is a lot of discussion about hydrogen, and its production and demand are to grow in 2024, but only slowly. This is mainly because Hydrogen remains very expensive to produce, store and transport compared to e.g. fossil fuels. In other words, there is a systemic problem to be solved. And like many systemic problems it calls for collaboration and innovation in order to solve it.
Needed: Innovation & Collaboration
A lot needs to happen before Hydrogen will be mainstream. That’s where Hydrogen Valleys play a role: With funding aimed for scaling hydrogen production and use Clean Hydrogen Partnership believes that it can speed up development and ensure not only innovation but also commercial production of clean hydrogen and technologies and business models needed to support it. And so do we!
The first EnergySampo Forum took place on 17.10.2023. We brought together private and public sector actions to accelerate innovation and investment in the rapidly evolving energy sector. And concluded that we have a role to play in the global hydrogen economy: In Finland we have plenty of renewable energy, strong players focusing on ramping up the hydrogen production and number of innovative industry players to use hydrogen in its various forms.
So after further study we had number of committed partners onboard across the Finnish West Coast: The local energy companies in Pori, Vaasa, Kristiinankaupunki, Kokkola, Pietarsaari and Oulu, project developers like Gasgrid, Flexens, Plug Power and Total Energy and the world class technology and solution developers like ABB, Danfoss, Hitachi Energy, Wärtsilä and Hycamite and many others. Together we made a decision to apply for funding in the EU Hydrogen Valley call that opened January 2024.
The second EnergySampo Forum, like the first one, served as a platform for uniting views. It took place during the EnergyWeek in Vaasa on the 13.03.2024. It provided a well-appreciated opportunity to discuss key points, and ensure broad based collaboration and focus on the winning application. And indeed, exactly 6 months after the first EnergySampo Forum, we submitted our application on the 17.04.2024.
EnergySampo: Contributing to the BotH2nia Hydrogen Valley
While the EnergySampo players are all driving forces of the EnergyVaasa cluster, the BotH2nia Hydrogen Valley brought together much broader regional collaboration. Ranging from Pori to Oulu, and with a total committed investment of 3.6 BEUR in its 8 value chains, the BotH2nia Hydrogen Valley will be a leading hydrogen region by 2030.
The project, if/when operational, will be bring together 30+ beneficiary partners and 50+ associated and observer partners in different roles: Project developers, global and local companies and research institutions are committed to support Finland’s transformation in becoming one of Europe’s leading H2 and derivatives producers, creating energy independence and security in the region and supporting European energy sovereignty. When implemented the project will have a profound impact on the local, European and global economy, summarized in the following picture:
Towards scalable systemic solutions
Systemic innovation is what EnergySampo stands for. While the competition for the Hydrogen Valley funding will be tough, we are in it to win it. In Finland we have this thing called SISU that can be translated as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness. And collaboration to create systemic solutions calls for SISU, the EnergySampo partners along with other BotH2nia Hydrogen Valley Partners are committed to it.
Joint innovation and collaboration of multiple stakeholders with sometimes conflicting motivation requires commitment to purpose and trust. That’s what EnergySampo is built on – along with strong business sense. We believe that better and greener solutions can also be good business.
