On 20 June 2023, ERRIN participated in the Plenary Meeting of the S3 European Hydrogen Valleys Partnership, hosted in the House of the Dutch Provinces in Brussels.  

The meeting focused on the ways in which hydrogen technologies have been playing a key role in the energy transition process, their importance for regions, and related current funding and support opportunities (including from the S3 CoP, where ERRIN is part of the Secretariat). 
 
Zoé Buyle-Bodin, ERRIN’s Policy Working Group leader from Normandy, provided an update on past and current initiatives and emphasised the importance of current funding opportunities for Regional Innovation Valleys under the I3 Instrument and Horizon Europe, on behalf of the leaders of the S3 Partnership.  
 
ERRIN Secretariat colleagues offered an overview of network’s facilitation work around the Regional Innovation Valleys call for proposals and pointed out the European Commission will soon publish a call for evidence (expected in June 2023 and open for four weeks) to collect further input from the stakeholders for the European roadmap on Hydrogen Valleys aiming to support the implementation of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.  

In this context, ERRIN with its Energy & Climate Working Group is in the process of producing an input paper building on the work of the S3 Partnership on Hydrogen Valleys and collecting ERRIN’s members’ needs, challenges and solutions. Our objective is to emphasise the role that regions can play in mobilising the hydrogen ecosystems and strenghten their voice in EU hydrogen policy. Please provide your feedback by Tuesday 4 July via the following link: Hydrogen Roadmap – Survey for the Call for Evidence | ERRIN 

Concerning regions and, in wider terms, public authorities, the importance of their involvement in the whole hydrogen value chain, from production to various uses, was highlighted through the different examples that were presented by Košice Self-governing region, Aragon Development Agency and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Štajerska.