Project description
A renewable hydrogen economy in Austrian regions
Upper Austria, Styria, and Carinthia must reduce emissions in key sectors such as steel, chemicals, cement, energy, and transportation by cutting fossil fuel use and decreasing reliance on imported natural gas from Russia. The EU-funded HI2 Valley project aims to establish a large-scale renewable hydrogen economy across these regions, linking Austria’s hydrogen ecosystem with neighbouring countries. This initiative aligns with the European Green Deal, REPowerEU, and the Hydrogen Strategy by promoting decarbonisation, lowering emissions, and reducing dependency on Russian natural gas. By 2028, the region will require 13 000 tonnes of green hydrogen, with over 10 000 tonnes produced locally within the HI2 Valley through decentralised production facilities.
Objective
The HI2 Valley project will establish a large-scale renewable hydrogen (H2) economy in the Austrian industrial regions of Upper Austria, Styria and Carinthia, directly contributing to the goals outlined in the European Green Deal, REPower EU and Hydrogen Strategy. The project will achieve this by decarbonising key sectors through H2, drastically reducing emissions in the steel, chemical, and cement industries as well as in energy and mobility via displacement of fossil fuels – including reducing the reliance on natural gas which Austria overwhelmingly imports from Russia. With 13,000 tons of green hydrogen being needed in the regions by 2028, over 10,000 tpy of green hydrogen will be produced within this HI2 Valley.
By introducing strategically placed, decentralised H2 production facilities, the project will strengthen the country's energy resilience and flexibility and create a robust domestic market for green H2. The HI2 Valley will play a crucial role in bridging the gap between Southern and Eastern European hydrogen supply corridors. Being embedded on the European Hydrogen Backbone and TEN-T network and future pipeline connections (PCIs) with Southern Europe and North Africa, the HI2 Valley will seamlessly connect Austria's multi-user H2 ecosystem with neighbouring countries like Germany, Italy and Slovakia, fostering a truly interconnected Central European hydrogen network. This role model helps to secure industrial jobs, and through standardisation and integration brings costs of hydrogen down, creating a green industrial future for Europe. Going beyond its immediate neighbours, the HI2 Valley will also foster knowledge sharing and wider adoption of green hydrogen through the active collaboration with five other emerging Hydrogen Valleys in Eastern Europe in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Latvia and the Czech Republic.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystems
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuels
- social sciencespolitical sciencesgovernment systems
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-JU-IA - HORIZON JU Innovation ActionsCoordinator
4020 LINZ
Austria
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Participants (41)
8740 Zeltweg
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8074 Raaba-Grambach
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1210 VIENNA
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9863 Rennweg
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8020 Graz
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9545 Radenthein
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8010 Graz
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4020 Linz
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1030 Wien
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8010 GRAZ
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4040 Linz
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
8010 Graz
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9112 GRIFFEN
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38122 Trento
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8020 Graz
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8010 Graz
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
RG45 7NQ Crowthorne
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
2334 VOSENDORF
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9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
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1550 Kbenhavn K
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4020 Linz
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9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
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9020 Klagenfurt
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9586 FURNITZ
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9020 Klagenfurt Am Worthersee
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4021 Linz
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9300 St. Veit an der Glan
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
900552 Constanta
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5020 Salzburg
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1120 Wien
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1015 Wien
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1120 Wien
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1048 Riga
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35-084 RZESZOW
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2628 CN Delft
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8010 Graz
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9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
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3000 CELJE
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
4021 LINZ
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43401 Most
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
7624 PECS
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
Partners (6)
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
6300 Zug
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
1210 Wien
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
20340 Casablanca
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
9721 Weißenstein ob der Drau
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
9330 Klagenfurt
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Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
8010 Graz
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