About us

The Province of Drenthe is located in the north-east of the Netherlands and we are the lead partners in the Ehrin project (Interreg North Sea Region Programme 2021-2027), which stands for Excellent Hydrogen Regions in Europe. The Province of Drenthe is part of the first Hydrogen Valley in Europe, a multi-stakeholder coalition which connects the entire hydrogen chain within the Northern-Netherlands.

The province of Drenthe will contribute to each activity of the partner regions along with the exchange of knowledge, communication and the dissemination of results, along with a pilot project for each partner region. Drenthe will aim to develop a hydrogen-powered train that crosses multiple borders from Emmen in Drenthe to Grafschaft Bentheim in Germany.

Broadly, the topics on which Ehrin should yield insights are:

• Provide a regional hydrogen network strategy and action plan;
• Make a framework for regional hydrogen network governance and capacity building;
• Facilitate regional hydrogen network pilot actions and initiatives.

Drenthe has several hydrogen initiatives that are in varying stages of completion. Hydrogen mobility ambitions in the province of Drenthe has been translated through hydrogen refuelling stations in Emmen and Pesse. Additionally, there are 30 hydrogen-powered public transport buses in the Northern-Netherlands and several types of other hydrogen vehicles..

Groningen Airport Eelde is the first Hydrogen Valley Airport in Europe and will become a testing ground for hydrogen development. The airport aims to produce green hydrogen from a 22MW solar park with various applications for both ground and air vehicles. Lastly, the town of Hoogeveen in Drenthe that has a hydrogen neighbourhood, where homes will be heated by hydrogen boilers.

We have a common vision and ambition with our partners in the Ehrin project: to accelerate the transition to a hydrogen economy in the North Sea Region and beyond. We believe that hydrogen can play a key role in achieving the European Green Deal objectives and the Paris Agreement goals and create a more resilient energy system. We are committed to working together to overcome the challenges and barriers that hinder the development and deployment of hydrogen networks, such as high costs, lack of infrastructure, low awareness and skill-gaps. We are also eager to learn from each other and exchange best practices and experiences in the field of hydrogen.

The County Administrative Board of Scania (Länsstyrelsen Skåne in Swedish) is a public authority that represents the Swedish government in the southern most part of Sweden. Its headquarters are in the city of Malmö, a vibrant city that connects Scandinavia with the rest of Europe. Skåne is passionate about hydrogen and its potential to contribute to the energy transition and the climate goals of the region and the country.

Skåne is involved in several hydrogen projects and initiatives, both at the national and the European level.  There are some projects and initiatives related to hydrogen going on in Skåne, such as planning of production facility in close cooperation with one of municipalities. Skåne proudly hosts two industrial facilities that produce and use hydrogen: a chemical manufacturer and a metal powder manufacturer. It also has one hydrogen refuelling station, and two more refuelling stations are planned to be operating in the next three years.

Länsstyrelsen Skåne is on the other hand involved in project EHRIN. One of its main objectives of the project is to make hydrogen a part of the Climate and Energy Strategy for Scania, in cooperation with key stakeholders from various sectors. Skåne wants to provide specific guidance for permit processes regarding production and storage of hydrogen for industries, as its belief is that this will facilitate the development and deployment of hydrogen solutions in the region. Länsstyrelsen Skåne is excited to collaborate with their EHRIN partners and to learn from their experience and expertise. The vision of Skåne is to make hydrogen an important part of the energy mix, and to explore its role and benefits for different key users. The ambition of Skåne is to initiate a stakeholder dialogue and to give hydrogen a strategic importance in our region. Skåne is looking forward to working with you and to sharing its knowledge and passion for hydrogen.

Leine-Weser region

The Leine-Weser region is part of Lower Saxony in Germany and contains 7 districts (Diepholz, Hameln-Pyrmont, Hildesheim, Holzminden, Nienburg/ Weser, Schaumburg and the Region of Hannover, including the capital city of Hannover) with 2.1 Million inhabitants and an area of 9.060 km².

The Office for Regional Development Leine-Weser (Amt für Regionale Landesentwicklung Leine-Weser) located in Hildesheim and Sulingen, Lower-Saxony, is a part of the federal government of Lower Saxony and combines a variety of competences: State Representative of the Office for Regional Development Frauke Patzke and her employees from the region provide advice, networking and support in the areas of regional development and urban development support, spatial planning, foundation supervision, land consolidation, village development, rural development and domain administration. The Office for Regional Development Leine-Weser brings concerns from the region to the state government and, conversely, receives impulses from the state capital. The activities focus on current and future topics such as digitalization and innovation, securing skilled workers, integration, climate and environmental protection, culture, business and science, regional public services, (sustainable) mobility, urban and local development and tourism. Along these and other topics, the Office for Regional Development Leine-Weser successfully initiates, coordinates, combines and implements development concepts and funding projects together with partners from the Leine-Weser region.

In the line of these tasks, the Office for Regional Development Leine-Weser started to initiate a hydrogen stakeholder network Leine-Weser.

The office offered support in close cooperation with the Chamber of Industry and Commerce Hannover to the seven districts to establish the network. Furthermore 54 institutions of the region (municipalities, companies, etc.) submitted a letter of support.

As a first step the network applied for funding in order to appoint an official hydrogen manager for the district of Leine-Weser. The application-process is pending since September 2022.

Meanwhile in representation the Office for Regional Development Leine-Weser, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the district of Nienburg/ Weser are in charge of the preparation for the full implementation of the network.