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The Community Hydrogen Forum (CH2F) is a platform designed to help everyone understand the opportunities hydrogen technologies offer, especially in Northwest Europe. The platform is intended to be a forum for national, regional, and local governments, energy agencies, community development groups, energy cooperatives, educational institutions, renewable energy developers, transport sectors, and grid operators. In fact, any stakeholder from Ireland, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany is encouraged to participate as a member of CH2F. The main objectives of CH2F can be summarised as;
CH2F is one of the key outputs of the ‘GENerating energy secure COMMunities through smart Renewable Hydrogen’ (GENCOMM) project. This €9.3 million project started in 2016, and has delivered the DST model, made available via the CH2F.
The project validates the maturity of hydrogen technologies by implementing 3 pilot plants that link the 3 main north-west Europe renewable sources (Solar Power, Wind Power, and Bioenergy) with energy storage and the main forms of energetic demand (Heat, Power and Transportation fuels). Information from these plants are used to inform the modelling work.
The online map-based DST is a tool to assist relevant stakeholders in the assessment and implementation of hydrogen technology. The use of the DST, via the CH2F portal, will help refine and improve the development of the portal and promote hydrogen as an energy storage solution.
CH2F was launched in autumn 2019 and will be administered by NUI Galway until end of 2020. After this administration will pass to Hydrogen Ireland or another equivalent body.
All the stakeholders can register for free through the website. Once registered, user will have access to the DST.
Several European projects have been developed aiming to increase the awareness of hydrogen in the European communities. However, many obstacles are hindering the full integration of these technologies. One of the main barriers to overcome is how to connect stakeholders, end-users, policymakers, and communities interested in hydrogen technologies.
Therefore, GENCOMM, SEAFUEL, and HUGE projects proudly present a unique Hydrogen Triple Alliance aiming to secure wider reach, extend to other communities, and combine data from these green hydrogen project – the first cross-Interreg hydrogen partnership of its kind.
The alliance will integrate their resources to enlarge the Community Hydrogen Forum (CH2F), share expertise and amplify the different resources developed in the projects, and more importantly, deliver enhanced benefits for the European communities.
GENCOMM aims to technically and financially validate the renewable H2 value chain and adapt it to a DST that leads NWE communities into sustainable, local and autonomous energy matrixes. The DST is directed to community energy stakeholders (utilities, policy-makers, and private firms in the energy sector), as the key agents to implement the proposed matrix. The project will first engage energetically and territorial remote communities to then address the rest of NWE.
The GenComm project aims include:
SEAFUEL aims to use the renewable resources across the Atlantic Area to power the local transport fleet and support the shift towards a low-carbon economy. The project will use the expertise and infrastructure of the partners in renewable energy, namely solar, wind and marine, to demonstrate the viability of hydrogen as a fuel to be used by the local transport authorities. Success of the project will promote a sustainable transport system that can be adopted by other Atlantic regions.
The project aims to achieve goals in three main areas:
The Hydrogen Utilization & Green Energy (HUGE_ project is a 1.4 million 3 year project, which started on the 1st of June 2019. The project is funded by the Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) Programme, under priority Axis 3 – Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy. HUGE ambition is to raise awareness of the use of green hydrogen as a viable energy vector for remote and rural communities in housing, transport and industry.
The HUGE project aims include:
