On 4-5 September, RENERGY and NORHyWAY took part in the Tech Tour European Hydrogen Valleys Investment Forum 2025 in Riga.
The forum gathered more than 30 selected companies, over 40 active investors, and a wide range of experts and policymakers to accelerate the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy across Europe.
Thomas Bjørdal, Cluster manager of RENERGY, represented NORHyWAY – H2 Valley Mid-Norway, contributing to the panel “Hydrogen Valleys in Practice: From Vision to Implementation” alongside Marianna Malkowska (HySPARK), Erik Luznik (HI2 Valley), and moderated by Christian Weinberger.
-We face similar challenges across Europe and the offtake market is still too unclear. As a valley we need time to adapt our consortium to these challenges. This is why support from the Clean Hydrogen Partnership is crucial, said Bjørdal.
During his intervention, Bjørdal highlighted how NORHyWAY is moving beyond pilots and into scaling. The valley has already developed operational pilots in hydrogen production, bunkering systems, and maritime and road transport, demonstrating its role as an enabler for the hydrogen value chain. The next step is reducing risk and bridging the gap from pilots to full market uptake.
NORHyWAY also attended the pitch session. Key takeaways included:
- Developing a hydrogen market is a long-term process. For more than 10 years, RENERGY has connected companies across the maritime, transport, energy, and hydrogen sectors.
- With Europe’s lowest electricity prices and 100% renewable power, Mid-Norway offers the conditions for competitive hydrogen production.
- NORHyWAY integrates diverse use cases: maritime, road transport, and industrial offtake, reducing investment risks and driving economies of scale.
- The valley has an investment potential of €750 million, with several projects already funded through national and EU schemes.
With the ambitious EU target of 50 Hydrogen Valleys by 2030, the Riga forum highlighted how valleys like NORHyWAY are vital in creating real results for clean hydrogen in Europe.