STRING is a political membership organization uniting local and regional authorities across Northern Europe to drive the green transition and foster green growth. Representing 14.5 million people across 4 countries, 7 cities, and 9 regions, STRING connects stakeholders politically, industrially, and geographically. STRING also leads the GREATER4H project, which focuses on deploying 14 hydrogen refueling stations along the Oslo-to-Hamburg corridor. GREATER4H is a public-private partnership co-financed by the EU's Connecting Europe Facility, covering 30% of the project costs.
Role in H2ignite
STRING serves as the project manager for H2ignite, collaborating with the Lead Partner Schleswig-Holstein to ensure overall coordination and facilitation. STRING leads a pilot ecosystem focused on developing business models for hydrogen heavy-duty vehicle deployment through public procurement. Additionally, STRING leads Work Package 3, focusing on communication, international dissemination, and promotion of the H2ignite results. This includes showcasing the pilot ecosystems as replicable models and sharing policy recommendations to foster broader hydrogen innovation and adoption.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Areas, European Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Land of Schleswig-Holstein (MLLEV) is one of the nine ministries of the state government of Schleswig-Holstein. The department for European Affairs is H2ignite’s Lead Partner. The European department monitors current European policy issues of importance to Schleswig-Holstein at its offices in Kiel, Berlin and Brussels (Hanse-Office). Within the state government, it is responsible for coordinating the EU policies identified as state policy priorities.
Role in H2ignite
As the project lead of H2ignite, MLLEV ensures the overall coordination of the project in cooperation with the project management team STRING.
Together with hydrogen experts from Schleswig-Holstein MLLEV works on analysing the commercial H2 value chains in the North Sea Region (NSR) from a user perspective. This will subsequently help to identify H2 opportunities across the NSR in the pilots’ phases.
In addition, the Ministry works with other project partners to develop dialogue formats to close the communication gap between private and public pilot actors and establish important channels and the exchange of knowledge, needs and insights that will consequently lead to the use of H2 innovations in the ecosystems.
The Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel) sees itself as the research institute in Germany for globalization issues. Our researchers investigate the drivers and effects of international economic activity, the integration and disintegration of global markets as well as the opportunities and limits of political action in open economies. The Institute analyzes the world economy not just as the sum of individual national economies, but rather as a global economic area that must be understood and shaped. We have tasked ourselves with identifying emerging global economic challenges and developing practical solutions that are compatible with open markets and competition while also taking account of everyone’s standard of living.
Role in H2ignite
IfW Kiel contributes to several activities in H2ignite. Specifically, it coordinates research activities on identifying good practices of regional innovation policies for H2 ecosystems and on developing a concept for evaluating H2 innovation ecosystems. In addition to this, it coordinates the evaluations of the four H2ignite pilot activities, which aim to establish regional H2 value chains for heavy duty trucks or vessels.
Port of Hamburg Marketing (HHM) is a registered association that has been promoting the Port of Hamburg and its numerous member companies, which include port stakeholders from the North and Baltic Sea regions, since 1985. The association has successfully campaigned for Hamburg as a port and logistics hub, enhancing the Port of Hamburg's market position both nationally and internationally. HHM Hamburg and its nine global representative offices serve as the primary points of contact for queries about the Port of Hamburg worldwide.
The HHM Project Department participates in tenders for EU and nationally funded projects, focusing on current transport policy issues and optimizing transport and transshipment processes. The department also develops international marketing strategies and designs sustainable transport concepts for coastal shipping and hinterland sectors, acting as an experienced project developer and manager.
HHM's Role in H2ignite:
Port of Hamburg Marketing will support STRING in communication activities to help establish a cross-sector forum for the North Sea region and promote the joint strategy for the hydrogen innovation ecosystem. HHM will leverage its own media channels and engage its member companies and logistics stakeholders to create synergies with partnership networks, disseminating project results to target groups. In the project, HHM collaborates closely with the Hamburg Authority for Economy and Innovation, the Hamburg Port Authority, and the Senate Chancellery of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Europa-Universität Flensburg (EUF) is the northernmost university in Germany. It is a public university in Flensburg, close the Danish border. Since 2014, it is officially named Europa-Universität. Since then, EUF is a member of a network of institutions in several European nations that collaborate closely to develop the European higher education system. These universities encourage internationalization in research and teaching, provide collaborative degree programs, and facilitate student and faculty mobility and exchange.
The Europa-Universität Flensburg focuses on educational sciences, international management, sustainability and environment, and European integration. These focus areas are mirrored in the university's degree programs, research initiatives, and worldwide connections.
Role in H2ignite
Therefore, the H2ignite initiative directly aligns with the focus of Europa-Universität Flensburg. Within H2ignite, Prof. Dr. Susanne Royer, head of the Department of Strategic and International Management, and Sebastian Wirth are responsible for researching the business models of hydrogen actors in the nascent hydrogen ecosystems in Activity 1.3. This way, companies with relevant activities receive additional information regarding the hydrogen market and the value chain for hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles. The insights acquired will enable interested firms to evaluate their investment uncertainties in hydrogen technologies more effectively and to gain a comprehensive understanding of the potential for value creation and capture in this economic sector.
For the text perhaps u can use the text we use on our own website until we have finished the pilot information for the website. H2IGNITE - Provincie Drenthe
Within the project, Drenthe is setting up its own pilot, focused on the daily use of hydrogen as a fuel in (heavy) transport. This pilot offers a unique opportunity to investigate how hydrogen can contribute to clean and sustainable mobility in their province. They work closely with regional companies, governments and knowledge institutions to put these technologies into practice and position the region as a leader in hydrogen innovation. With H2Ignite, the province of Drenthe is actively committed to a sustainable future, in which innovation and collaboration are central. Together they are building their Hydrogen Valley ambition with future-oriented hydrogen applications for energy and mobility.
Volvo Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment, and marine and industrial engines. By developing and delivering products and services under different brands, we can address many different customer and market segments in mature as well as growth markets. The Volvo Group, with its headquarters in Gothenburg, employs about 100 000 people, has production facilities in 18 countries and sells products in more than 190 markets. Volvo Technology AB is the R&D organization of the Volvo Group and provides state-of-the-art research, engineering, product planning and project execution to final delivery of complete products and aftermarket support. The 9 800 employees in Volvo Technology AB work in global teams on projects across the globe in SE, FR, USA, IND, BRA and AUS.
With several hydrogen related activities across the globe, we bring in expertise and market knowledge (needs and challenges) for H2 fueled HDVs and logistics into the project.
Role in H2ignite
Volvo Group will be part of a close cooperation with DFDS and Lindholmen Science Park SP in the H2 innovation ecosystem in Western SE. Focus will be on identifying feasible supply and storage of hydrogen, fuelling station and vehicle solutions, and using other EU-project results – e.g. H2 Accelerate TRUCKS (i.a. Daimler, IVECO, Volvo), HYCET (BMW Group), ZEFES (HEU) – to accelerate the uptake of Hydrogen trucks in SE and beyond. Volvo Group will also be part of activities around outreach, knowledge exchange and transfer activities throughout/beyond the project lifetime (WP3).
Lindholmen Science Park leads the West Sweden Ecosystem Pilot, collaborating closely with other pilots and contributing with knowledge and experience across all work packages within the project. Our eco-system pilot focuses on supporting logistics actors in the region while fostering sector coupling, organizing knowledge seminars, and advancing hydrogen production insights. We, together with our partners in the eco-system, are also gathering insights on policy instruments that can accelerate development.
Pôlénergie enhances the attractiveness of the « Hauts-de-France » Région by turning energy transition and decarbonization into economic opportunities for businesses and local authorities. We support the region’s energy sectors, producers, infrastructure managers, and both public and private users. Our expertise covers energy efficiency, decarbonization, renewable energy, hydrogen, green gases, smart grids and low-carbon fuels for mobility. Pôlénergie is a key player in identifying innovative solutions, strategic partnerships, funding, and subsidies to drive decarbonization projects and foster regional economic growth.
Pôlénergie role in H2Ignite
Pôlénergie plays a pivotal role in the H2Ignite project by leading WP1, which focuses on research and support for hydrogen ecosystem innovations and application for transport in the North Sea Region. This includes mapping transport sector value chains, analyzing business models for hydrogen value chains, and identifying gaps in EU and national policies. These activities are essential for fostering innovation within regional hydrogen ecosystems and aligning them with European policy frameworks. In addition, we are the main contribuor for the mapping section and are in charge of the interaction with the regional innovation ecosystem by sharing the results and good practices.
Moreover, Pôlénergie actively contributes to WP2 by participating in the hydrogen-powered barge pilot within the Seine-North Europe Canal. This results in working to assess the feasibility and readiness of hydrogen technologies for inland waterway transport. This effort includes engaging stakeholders, co-developing innovation/economic/financial strategies, and facilitating transnational exchanges among the project’s pilots to ensure the scalability and replicability of outcomes.