The Eurecat technology centre is coordinating the Catalan network of innovation and scalability of knowledge in differential technologies in the field of renewable hydrogen (H2CAT), which brings together the main Catalan research groups in the hydrogen sector to enhance and transfer their results and solutions to the value chain of green hydrogen in Catalonia.
The H2CAT, which has started its activity with the first working meeting held at the headquarters of Eurecat Tarragona, is formed by 30 leading research groups with expertise and knowledge in various lines of research and technologies related to the hydrogen cycle, located at 15 different sites throughout Catalonia.
Eurecat has promoted H2CAT together with the Catalan Institute for Chemical Research (ICIQ), the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV), with the aim of improving the transferability of research results to the market, while consolidating internal synergies and those with other existing initiatives, generating new joint projects and boosting the ecosystem.
As explained by the director of the H2CAT network and researcher at the Chemical Technology Unit of Eurecat, Dr. Miriam Diaz de los Bernardos, “the adoption of hydrogen to meet the challenges of decarbonisation makes it essential that scientific and technological knowledge, industrial development and innovation in green hydrogen technologies are worked in the network in a transversal, collaborative and open way, to accelerate technological deployment and extract the maximum value that impacts on the welfare of society”.
“The establishment of an R&D valorisation network must facilitate the consolidation of this model and bring it closer to industries in sectors as diverse as petrochemical, cement, steel, energy and mobility, among others, to place Catalonia as a leader in the creation of a transfer ecosystem between research and the productive, social and commercial environment in the field of green hydrogen”, explained Laura Arribas, head of Ecosystems and Innovation Policies of Eurecat’s Technology Consulting department.
H2CAT network activities
Entre les activitats que la xarxa H2CAT preveu dur a terme, hi ha la posada en marxa de l’Observatori H2CAT i el treball en quatre eixos temàtics compartits per tots els grups de recerca, que són les tecnologies de producció d’hidrogen, l’emmagatzematge i distribució, l’ús de l’hidrogen com a font d’energia i el seu ús com matèria primera.
D’altra banda, a partir de l’elaboració d’un catàleg conjunt de productes i serveis resultants de les activitats de recerca dels membres de la xarxa H2CAT, s’organitzaran fòrums d’inversió, sessions de demostració per facilitar el contacte amb la societat i les empreses i fòrums temàtics per tal d’adaptar les tecnologies de la xarxa a les necessitats del mercat.
El treball de la xarxa també inclourà accions per a la capacitació dels investigadors en negoci, amb una formació transversal en valorització, transferència i emprenedoria.
L’H2CAT és una xarxa oberta a noves incorporacions i crearà sinergies en el marc de la Vall de l’Hidrogen de Catalunya, a la qual pertany, i amb altres iniciatives en aquest camp. Així mateix, la xarxa compta amb el suport del Departament de Recerca i Universitats de la Generalitat de Catalunya per a un període de tres anys.
Green hydrogen, energy vector for decarbonisation
In this transformation, green hydrogen is positioned as one of the main energy vectors in the long term, since it can be produced through renewable energy, a fact that gives it the potential to achieve the decarbonisation of sectors where the use of renewable electricity is not viable.
