The main objective of the project Green Hydra is to improve policies from 10 regions of different types and levels - national, regional or local - to establish support initiatives and measures for opening the access of SMEs to green H2 development projects, from research programmes to development strategies, awareness-raising schemes, and pilot investments especially focused on involvement of SMEs across the whole green hydrogen value chain, including R&D, engineering, manufacturing, consultancy, human resources upskilling and design.

During the three days participants analyzed and evaluated the existing barriers and policies to support green hydrogen deployment and uptake by SMEs led by experts from the Advisory partner Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, Netherlands.

In search for synergy with other projects in the same field project partners met online with Dr Beata Kviatek, Jean Monnet Chair in Sustainable EU Economy, Centre of Expertise Energy ENTRANCE, Hanze University, project manager of UNLOCK project, also funded within Interreg Europe Program 2021-2027. The main topic was the integration of SMEs into the Green H2 Supply Chain, the opportunities, niches and challenges for the companies and also the burdens related to regulations, funding and public awareness needs and concerns.

The partners next proceeded with an interactive workshop to discuss possible inclusion of SMEs in the processes on green hydrogen production, transmission and distribution, industrial applications and electrolysers’ partnership, green hydrogen for mobility, in the energy sector and on green hydrogen in buildings. They also have talked through all the good practices collected by partners as pathways leading to boosting the role of SMEs in the green value chain across Europe.

Partners and stakeholders from ministries, public administrations, academia and businesses summarized their insights and conclusions in formulating specific recommendations for policy improvements in their regions meant for opening new opportunities for SMEs to become part of the green hydrogen business systems.

After the workshop partners and stakeholders visited the first H2 refueling station in Bulgaria at the Integral Energy Systems Laboratory of HITMOBIL Centre of Competence, run by Acad. Evgeni Budevski Institute of Electrochemistry and Energy Systems (IEES-BAS) of Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for a demonstration led by Assoc. Prof. Blagoy Burdin, a prominent reasearcher and passionate leader of large innovative green mobility projects.

Next a tour in the laboratories and production premises of Hydrogenera Ltd. was held, an innovative Bulgarian SME equipped with the technology and expertise to seamlessly complete the entire hydrogen supply chain – from production, compression, and storage, to feeding into the gas transmission networks or transportation to charging stations. They got inspired by the examples Bulgarian researchers and businessmen have presented as good practices to be followed in partners’ countries.

Thanks to the seminar, the workshop and the study visits partners in Green hydra have deepen their understanding of how to ease the access of SMEs to green H2 development projects, from research programmes to development strategies, awareness-raising schemes, and pilot investments focused on involvement of SMEs across the whole hydrogen value chain. Many inspirational ideas have been born to be further developed throughout the project deployment.