Hydrogen Valley in Austria: Three federal states in the starting blocks
The EU is supporting the “Hydrogen Industrial Inland Valley Austria” in Styria, Upper Austria and Carinthia with an initial grant of 20 million euros, the office of Styrian Economic Minister Barbara Eibinger-Miedl (ÖVP) announced today, Wednesday, January 29, 2025. Around 578 million euros are to be invested by 2030.
“A milestone for Carinthia, Styria and Upper Austria”
Styria, Upper Austria and Carinthia have similar challenges to overcome: In order to transform the important industrial locations in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way towards CO2 neutrality, investments in research, development and implementation of hydrogen technologies are essential. The launch of the joint hydrogen valley is therefore
The economic affairs ministers of the three federal states in the run-up to the upcoming launch in Graz, said :
a milestone for our three federal states,
start for 17 projects
Next Monday, February 3, 2025, around 100 representatives from a total of 48 national and international project partners will meet to start concrete planning for 17 selected projects in the Austrian HI2 Valley. The spread of such Hydrogen Valleys in the EU is intended to strengthen the hydrogen economy in Europe as an important building block for a climate-neutral future.
What does the project include?
The ambitious project, which is being implemented under the leadership of the WIVA P&G research institute, covers the entire value chain: from production to transport to storage and application of green hydrogen. The majority of the hydrogen will be used in industry (56 percent) and in the energy (23 percent) and mobility (21 percent) sectors. Plans include new electrolysis plants that will produce more than 10,000 tons of hydrogen per year in the three federal states. In these three federal states, demand is estimated at over 13,000 tons by 2028.
578 million euros will be invested
The schedule calls for concrete planning to be completed by the end of 2026, after which the plants will be built and should be operational by the end of 2028. The plants are to be further optimized by 2030.
HI2 Valley project manager Margherita Matzer, says:
The signing of the funding agreement marks the next major milestone for the implementation of the HI2 Valley. Now it’s about implementing the individual projects within the Valley and creating new synergies,
. A total investment of around 578 million euros is estimated for this.
The goal: around 5,500 tons of green hydrogen per year
Of the 17 projects, five are being implemented in Carinthia and six each in Upper Austria and Styria. According to the EU, the steel, cement and raw materials sectors, which are strongly present in Styria and are very energy-intensive, are considered the most difficult industries to decarbonize. The conventionally produced hydrogen that is already partly used in this sector is to be converted to 50 percent green production in the EU by 2030. According to the “Green Energy 2040 Master Plan” of the Styrian Industrial Association and Energie Steiermark, the domestic industry expects to need more hydrogen than electricity in just ten years (currently 2.4 TWh, around 3.4 TWh in 2035). By 2030, around 0.6 TWh or more than 18,000 tons of green hydrogen will be needed annually from local production. The plants built as part of the Hydrogen Valley in Styria are expected to produce around 5,500 tonnes of green hydrogen per year from 2028. (APA/red. 29.1.25)
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Hydrogen Valley in Austria: Three federal states in the starting blocks, source