At the EU Hydrogen Valley Days conference in Brussels, Zasavje RDA presented the Central Sava Small Hydrogen Valley (H2SAVA) project concept to the professional public. The project plans to accelerate the energy transformation of the Zasavje region through the integration of clean hydrogen technologies in various sectors. The event was co-organised by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and the European Commission – DG Research and Innovation.

The event, held on 17-18 June 2024, was structured around the successful work of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking with European regions and cities, including the development assistance and funding of 15 Hydrogen Valleys across Europe. The conference focused on the launch of the EU Roadmap for Hydrogen Valleys and related capacities. The conference programme included discussions with policy makers, local authorities, project developers, investors and industry suppliers who are shaping local hydrogen ecosystems to achieve REPowerEU’s strategic goal of doubling the number of hydrogen valleys in the European Union by 2025. Central Sava was one of four European regions (Central Sava (Zasavje) Region, Slovenia; Valentia Island, Ireland; Košice Self-Governing Region, Slovakia; Cluj-Napoca, Romania) invited to present hydrogen valley concepts for their regions at the conference.

About the Central Sava Small Hydrogen Valley

Central Sava (Zasavje) is one of the European coal regions that is undergoing an accelerated transition from a traditional coal region to a low-carbon and high-tech region under the Just Transition Mechanism (European Green Deal). Following the closure of the RTH coal mine (2013) and the Trbovlje Thermal Power Plant (2014), the region still faces a considerable degree of social and economic challenges, which will be mitigated by the development resources of the Just Transition Fund during the period of Zasavje’s Just Transition (2022-2029). In order to ensure an effective green transition, efforts are also underway in the region to decarbonise energy-intensive industries that remain operational after the closure of the main energy infrastructure (mines, thermal power plant). Among them is Steklarna Hrastnik d.o.o., which is the leading industry in Slovenia and the glass sector in the use of green hydrogen as well as other decarbonisation technologies in the glass sector.

The Centre for a Just Transition of Zasavje (CPP Zasavje), which operates within the Zasavje Regional Development Agency (Zasavje RDA), in the process of preparing the Territorial Just Transition plan for the Zasavje Coal Region, assessed that the region has the potential for decarbonisation of the industrial sector through the use of clean hydrogen technologies. To this end, the Centre has coordinated a process for the development of the Small Hydrogen Valley Zasavje concept, which will accelerate the energy transformation of the Central Sava (Zasavje) region through the integration of clean hydrogen technologies in various sectors.

Technical assistance for project development

Zasavje RDA was granted technical assistance for the development and upgrading of their project concept in the Clean Hydrogen Partnership’s PDA II Regions (Project Development Assistance for Regions) call for proposals in early 2023. For the development of the local hydrogen valley project, Zasavje RDA and partners worked with The ERM Groups’s consultancy team during the period 2023-2024 as part of the technical assistance to help them define the core concept of the hydrogen valley and the key business models for the techno-economically feasible integration of hydrogen technologies in selected regional sectors. Central Sava (Zasavje) is one of the European regions that has made effective use of the technical assistance and successfully developed a proposal for the establishment of a small hydrogen valley in the region. In April 2024, Zasavje RDA and its partners submitted a project entitled Central Sava Small Hydrogen Valley (H2SAVA) to the Small – scale Hydrogen Valley call (Horizon EUROPE) for co-funding of hydrogen valleys across Europe. The consortium consists of 18 project partners, with Zasavje RDA as the lead partner (consortium partners are listed at the end of the article).

The H2SAVA project will aim to transform the energy landscape of Central Sava by creating an integrated hydrogen ecosystem, connecting all key stakeholders and integrate with existing energy infrastructure and systems. H2SAVA aims to establish the capacity to produce 570 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year, thereby reducing emissions by 2,585 tonnes of CO2 per year in the regional industrial sector.

Application and integration of hydrogen technologies

The H2SAVA project envisages the establishment of renewable hydrogen production units at two sites: Steklarna Hrastnik d.o.o. (Hrastnik) and InterCal Slovenija d.o.o. – limestone production (Zagorje ob Savi). The aim is to replace the share of methane fuel (natural gas) with renewable hydrogen in the production processes of these industries.

The plan is to set up two additional remote hydrogen production units in nearby industrial zones (planned locations are the TET industrial zone and the SVEA business zone), which will supply additional hydrogen to the glassworks, InterCal and other remote potential users of hydrogen. This will be achieved by injecting hydrogen into the existing natural gas network or by new hydrogen pipelines and setting up a green gas certificate trading scheme. This strategic approach is key to expanding the hydrogen market within the Hydrogen Valley and beyond.

The following demonstration integrations are planned under the project:

• Production and use of hydrogen in chemical production: use of hydrogen as a material for the production of resins (Melamin chemical plant d.d. Kočevje).
• Hydrogen production and use from bio gas reforming in high temperature processes (Procesni inženiring d.o.o.).
• Implementation of a small 4 kW integrated unit: this unit includes an electrolyser, a fuel cell and a hydrogen storage system. This technology will demonstrate the use of FCH (Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology) technologies to achieve energy efficiency at the level of individual buildings or neighborhoods (Jožef Stefan Institute) and demonstrate the support of FCH technologies in the operation of a local energy community.

Energy and the Local Energy Community

To efficiently power electrolysers with electricity from renewable sources (a prerequisite for the production of green or clean hydrogen), an innovative approach will be required, in addition to the utilization of energy from large-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants and the purchase of certified renewable energy from the grid (PPA). Electrolysis is a process that requires a relatively large amount of electricity. The proposed solution is to establish a local energy market or local energy community (LEC), which will allow for the dynamic exchange and trading of locally produced surplus electricity between members of the community. The aim is to ensure that cheaper local surplus energy is used to produce clean hydrogen at an affordable price. It is estimated that regional PV electricity generation capacity will exceed 80 MW of installed capacity within the next five years. It is therefore necessary to optimize the use of locally produced energy as a matter of priority, especially when energy prices on current external markets offer negative or zero prices.

The local energy market will allow hydrogen technologies to harness more locally produced energy to power electrolysers at lower cost. For example, electricity prices generated by photovoltaic power plants are low and sometimes even negative in summer. In a dynamic local energy market, local producers will be able to offer their surplus energy at more competitive prices to industries with constant and high energy needs. In addition, by converting electricity to hydrogen (power to gas) at local or regional level, hydrogen systems will also ensure efficient storage of surplus electricity and, in the case of FCH integration, re-electrification of hydrogen.

New business models in the energy market

The dynamic exchange of flexibility (energy surpluses and shortages) and energy storage systems within the LEC will trigger the development of new business models, such as ancillary services for distribution (DSO – Elektro Ljubljana d.d.) and transmission system operators (TSO – ELES, d.o.o.), a business unit – local energy community operator (Zasavje RDA) and other business models related to the local energy market for the members of the community. It will be crucial to ensure the affordability of hydrogen and to develop new services enabled by properly integrated hydrogen technologies. By optimising energy production and use within the LEC, developing and integrating different business models within the energy community and taking a community approach to external energy markets, the LEC will create new financial flows and thus establish techno-economic stability across the entire value chain of the Central Sava hydrogen ecosystem.

“The project will demonstrate the use of hydrogen technologies on an industrial scale in the Central Sava region, which will stimulate the further development of the regional hydrogen ecosystem. The aim is to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the region, decarbonise and improve the economics of energy-intensive industries, develop new business models and place Zasavje on the map of the most advanced energy regions in Europe. It is important to maintain energy activity in the region, but using state-of-the-art technologies and with minimal impact on the environment. This will represent an exceptional added value for the region and will put it among the most successful regions in just transition.” « Kristijan Adamlje, Zasavje Just Transition Center, coordinator of the Central Sava Small Hydrogen Valley (H2SAVA) consortium.

Consortium: Zasavje Regional Development Agency (lead partner), Steklarna Hrastnik d.o.o., InterCal Slovenija d.o.o., Plinovodi d.o.o., Holding Slovenske elektrarne – EDT d.o.o., EVJ energetika d.o.o., Procesni inženiring d.o.o., Melamin kemična tovarna d.d. Kočevje, Competence Centre for Advanced Control Technologies, OFFSET Energy d.o.o., University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Chemistry, Jožef Stefan Institute, SINET d.o.o., Innovation and Development Institute of the University of Ljubljana, RC eNeM d.o.o., SWW WUNSIEDEL GMBH (Germany), RINA Consulting S.p.A (Italy), Elektro Ljubljana d.d. (Associated Partner).

Related projects/programs: Zasavje Just Transition, Zasavje Just Transition Center, H2GLASS (testing and validation of H2 technologies in the glass industry at industrial level), H2GreenFUTURE (demonstration, training, policies), NAHV (North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley).