“This is 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 Alice Leland Høye, Business Advisor at Kristiansand Municipality.
Wednesday, a consortium of Norwegian and foreign businesses and other 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.
Høye presented plans during an Agder H2 Network meeting in Kristiansand Tuesday afternoon. This being a meeting for the hydrogen value chain, Høye received positive feedback from everyone in the room – except for Marius Arion Nilsen, Norwegian Member of Parliament and its Standing Committee on Energy and the Environment.
For Nilsen, increased focus on hydrogen is not a preferred way forward.
“We should pick the lowest hanging fruits first. As of now, hydrogen is too far up the tree and comes at too great a cost,” said Nilsen.
He continued: “Norway is one of only three democratic countries among the world’s 15 largest oil and gas producers. The other two being Canada and the US. With global consumption of coal setting new records year after year, Norway should increase production of oil and gas to replace coal. That is the most significant and efficient environmental action we can take at this point,” said Nilsen.
Ingebjørg Telnes Wilhelmsen, CEO of Norsk Hydrogenforum, concluded the meeting on a more positive note for hydrogen supporters, showcasing how the industry doubled revenues between 2022 and 2023, and how exports are close to NOK 3 billion a year.
“There are currently 212 hydrogen projects in Norway – 90 related to R&D, 75 related to production, 52 related to consumption, and 41 related to technology. We had some setbacks in 2024, but we also saw five new hydrogen facilities open, and four investment decisions being made to build more,” said Wilhelmsen.
