3 June: Norway Vision Workshop – Hosted by Energy Valley
In Fornebu, Norway, around 20 hydrogen experts convened to shape a 10-year vision for Norway’s hydrogen economy. Using the LEGO® Serious Play® method, facilitaed by Tiina Laiho from CLIC Innovation, participants collaboratively built a narrative for the future. Below are the key findings from the workshop:
Key findings from the vision story
- Policy support is crucial: Norway must fully embrace hydrogen’s potential. Political decisions—such as phasing out polluting alternatives and offering effective subsidies—are essential to make hydrogen projects financially viable and attractive to investors.
- Strategic industrial integration: Hydrogen should be embedded in Norway’s long-term industrial and climate strategies, leveraging the country’s oil and gas expertise to develop exportable hydrogen technologies and standards.
- Balanced domestic and export focus: While Germany and other international markets are important, Norway should also explore domestic hydrogen business models to ensure local value creation.
- Infrastructure readiness: The national electricity grid must be upgraded to accommodate hydrogen production and usage. Long-term planning should account for hydrogen’s growth potential.
- Resilient supply chains: Transparent, geopolitically stable supply chains and funding sources are vital for building a robust hydrogen value chain.
- Safety and standards: Public trust hinges on safety. International standards—such as unified ISO protocols—are needed to eliminate technical barriers and support sector growth.
- Economic viability: Hydrogen investments must be underpinned by sound market design, regulation, and infrastructure planning to ensure long-term business sustainability.
June 4: Hydrogen Conference at Industriuka
During the hydrogen conference at Porsgrunnshallen, Francesco Reda (VTT) gave an excellent presentation of the BalticSeaH2 project, which sparked great interest among the participants. The seminar brought together a diverse group of actors from Norway, as well as our Finish delegation, including industry representatives, technology providers, and research institutions. Arne Nicander (Powered by Telemark) facilitated participation and coordinated logistics, including transportation and accommodation at the historic Adminiet. In the evening, project representatives attended the official gala dinner at Eidanger Hall—an elegant and festive event featuring awards for the best stands at the conference and live music by the Norwegian band CC Cowboys.
June 5: Industry Visits at Herøya Industrial Park
The following day, the delegation conducted site visits to three key players in hydrogen technology:
- NEL Hydrogen: Provided a tour and presentation of their highly advanced and robotized production line for electrolyzers—an impressive example of industrial automation at scale.
- HydrogenPro: Presented their electrolyzer manufacturing facility, with focus on technology development and production capacity.
- Yara: The visit included both a presentation and a guided tour of their 24 MW electrolyzer, which supplies green hydrogen for ammonia and fertilizer production. The facility currently covers approximately 3% of their total hydrogen needs, with the remainder produced through natural gas reforming—indicating significant potential for future decarbonization.
These visits offered valuable insight into the current status and challenges of industrial hydrogen development in Norway and served as a strong foundation for continued cooperation and knowledge exchange within the BalticSeaH2 project.
Various companies and organizations took part in the seminar and visits, including representatives from Honeywell, CIS Liepaja, GREEN DIGITAL AS, Planck Technologies, Hydrogenvegen AS, and Kjeller Innovasjon.