Project Title – Romanian Hydrogen and New Energy Technologies Hub – Ro-HydroHub
Ro-HYDROHUB aims to focus the efforts of the research, academic and economic environment to generate new technological solutions and products in the field of hydrogen energy technologies. The development of an infrastructure in which the innovative spirit and technological capability are reunited with business analysis and industrial investment represents only the framework that will facilitate the implementation of projects with an essential role in transforming ideas into solutions, consolidating resources/abilities to develop a hydrogen industry, followed by technological transfer (solutions and products) to companies. Ro-HYDROHUB is focused on the development, integration and demonstration of technologies for the production, supply, storage of hydrogen and the manufacturing of fuel cells and electrolyzers for applications in transportation, stationary and portable. The project aims to cover the entire range – from applied research and mathematical modeling to resolve all existing technological barriers, optimizing manufacturing processes for large-scale production of fuel cells and electrolyzers, to identifying the most promising trajectories to the market of technologies and implementing these applications.
- Within the Smart Specialization Areas mentioned in the National Strategy for Research, Innovation and Smart Specialization 2022-2027, there is the Basic Area “Energy and Mobility” with the subareas:
- 3.1 Green Mobility – Includes electric and hybrid vehicles, including hydrogen-based, for all types of transport, as well as: components of propulsion systems and their auxiliary ones; energy storage and energy management systems for them; shared use and integration of these vehicles in smart cities;
- 3.2 Modern low- or zero-emission energy generation technologies – Technologies and systems for energy conversion from renewable energy sources (hydro, wind, solar, biomass, geothermal), hydrogen energy recovery,
- 3.3 Energy Storage Regarding the green energy transformation (ERA – European Research Area for a “green” energy transformation), the document “European Research Area Policy Agenda – Overview of actions for the period 2022-2024” shows the importance of green hydrogen (“ERA pilot action on green Hydrogen is crucial to realize the European clean energy ambitions”), emphasizing once again that the energy future of Europe (and not only), cannot be implemented outside of Hydrogen energy, and the ROHydroHub project was designed so that its objectives OS1 – OS5 directly contribute to R&I in this area.
The implementation of the project will lead to an approach to the 3% of GDP target for investments in Research & Innovation. Accelerating the green/digital transition of Europe’s “key” industrial ecosystems is one of the objectives pursued within this project – SO6. Accelerating the integration of hydrogen-based technologies (fuel cells, electrolyzers) by integrating and demonstrating them in mobile applications (heavy transport, hybrid sources), back-up and cogeneration applications (microCHP). Technology transfer. Building regional and national Research and Innovation ecosystems to improve regional/national excellence and competitiveness is a direction that is given particular importance within the ROHydroHub project, the concern towards this direction being materialized within the specific objectives SO7 – SO12.
The Horizon Europe program is the most ambitious program for research and innovation in Europe and focuses on six areas that target the entire spectrum of global challenges: climate, digital environment, energy and mobility, being just some of the areas to which the ROHydroHub project can contribute. The results of the R&I activities carried out within this project can contribute to climate change mitigation, the transition to clean and accessible energy for all, and climate-neutral mobility, fitting into the area of concern set out in Cluster 5. Climate, Energy and Mobility, of the program.