“We are taking meetings and participating in panel discussion to pitch our HyVARD project,” says Alice Leland Høye, Business Advisor at Kristiansand Municipality.
In April, a consortium of Norwegian and foreign businesses and stakeholders filed a comprehensive application to be named a European Hydrogen Valley. Partners in the HyVARD project include La Francaise De L’Energie, Greenstat, Å Energi, Umoe Advanced Composites, Vireon, GreenPort North, the Port of Kristiansand, GCE NODE, and more.
HyVARD aims to be a large-scale hydrogen valley in Agder that will drive the regional and European development of a clean transition model. Hydrogen production in Agder would be distributed to three hubs: a port, an airport, and a logistics center for heavy transport and trucks.
The project has a budget of NOK 2.1 billion, of which the EU is asked to contribute with NOK 240 million. A decision is expected in August.
“This is a huge opportunity for the hydrogen industry in Agder to take a giant leap forward. If supported by the EU, Norway could be firmly established on the European hydrogen map,” says Høye.
15,000 global industry experts are expected to attend the World Hydrogen Summit & Exhibition, which is considered the industry’s most influential event.
Among the participants in the Agder delegation are also Torstein Ekern from Greenstat and Isabelle-Louise Aabel from the Port of Kristiansand.
“The Norwegian Pavilion will be our base. We encourage people and businesses to find us there,” says Høye.
