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Signing of a declaration of common interests for the development of the clean hydrogen economy at the Euregio Meuse-Rhine cross-border level!

Today more than 200 key hydrogen players from Belgian Limburg, the Province of Liège, Dutch Limburg and Aachen met to support the development of clean hydrogen in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) triangle. The event ‘The future of H2 economy and the position of H2 in heavy-duty mobility’ (organised by Cluster TWEED and SPI) was held at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. As a result of this gathering, many of them signed a declaration of common interests.

The declaration, called ‘The Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative’, was launched with the signature of Minister Philippe Henry, Vice-President and Walloon Minister for Climate, Energy, Mobility and Infrastructure. His presence at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was part of the event organized by the EMR H2 Booster project, a consortium of nine partners who have joined forces to accelerate the development of clean hydrogen in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine.

“We are at a key moment both in terms of energy and economy. Seeing Wallonia launch ‘The Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative’ to pursue the interregional development of the hydrogen sector is a real satisfaction. Indeed, in this short energy circuit, industry and territories can see their energy autonomy reinforced, but also jobs and new industrial ecosystems created. Hydrogen is an economic and ecological opportunity that should allow the decarbonization of sectors that are considered impossible to decarbonize,” declared Philippe Henry, Vice-President and Walloon Minister for Climate, Energy, Mobility and Infrastructure.

“Luxembourg welcomes the launch of the ‘Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative’, especially the emphasis placed on interregional cooperation. I trust that the decarbonisation through renewable hydrogen offers synergies at the level of the Benelux Union, the Grande Région / Grossregion and also bilaterally,” stated Claude Turmes, Minister for Energy of the government of The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

The event of this 18th April is a very good sign of work and common structuring of the hydrogen sector at the interregional level, since many of the players present have already associated themselves with it. The declaration could also be joined by other partners in the future. Indeed, after a study carried out within the framework of the EMR H2 Booster project, it appeared that there was a great desire on the part of the players to get to know each other better, straddling the regions, and to act along three mainlines :

EMR H2 road corridor

Development of local hydrogen production, transport and distribution infrastructures, as well as the development of a fleet of heavy-duty vehicles (coaches, trucks and refrigerated trailers) running on hydrogen;

EMR H2 river corridor

Development of hydrogen production, transport and distribution infrastructures, as well as the development of a fleet of hydrogen-powered barges;

EMR H2 Ecosystem

Including the players in the entire hydrogen value chain.

The signing of the declaration was preceded by a demonstration of various hydrogen-powered vehicles on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The presence of these trucks was a first in Wallonia!

In addition to a fuel cell garbage truck from E-Trucks Europe and a dual fuel diesel-hydrogen H2ice truck with tanker trailer from Altrea Haesaerts, the demonstration included the Honda Clarity, Hyundai Nexo, Toyota Mirai and a Mercedes GLC F-cell. The LMPH2G hydrogen-electric prototype of the MissionH24 was also on display. (As a reminder, MissionH24 is the collaboration between the Automobile Club de l’Ouest and GreenGT that aims to create a dedicated category for Hydrogen prototypes at the Le Mans 24 Hours.)

“The Euregio Meuse-Rhine event brings together participants from the entire hydrogen value chain, and we are particularly proud to be present with our hydrogen-powered garbage vehicle.” André Beukers, Director of E-Trucks Europe.

“We are proud to be part of the Euregio Meuse-Rhine event to support the Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative with our Dual Fuel H2ice Truck. Our main objective is to continue to drive our green synchromodal future.” Luc Haesaerts, Director of Haesaerts Luxembourg.

“I am delighted with the choice of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit to organize this major event on the theme of hydrogen. The link between the motorsports sector and the mobility sector was made concrete during this day organized by the EMR H2 Booster with the presence of our long-standing partner, the MissionH24 and its representatives, whom I warmly thank for their enlightening presentation. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is positioning itself, more than ever, as a laboratory for new technologies and innovation in its sector thanks to its particularly technical and demanding track. This event therefore highlighted the strong link between innovations for better sustainability in motor sports and their declinations in the mobility sector,” said Amaury Bartholomé, General Manager of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.

The day was marked by presentations from numerous international speakers and ended with a B2B session attended by many of the 200 participants representing the entire hydrogen value chain: production, transport, distribution, technology, engineering, integration, applications and end users.

Read the press release in English, French or Dutch.

Look at the presentations:

The future of H2 economy with the position of H2 in Heavy duty mobility | Spa Francorchamps – 18 April 2023 from cluster_tweed

More info and video’s on the website of Cluster Tweed.

After movie: