More than 200 players in the hydrogen economy from Belgian Limburg, Dutch Limburg, the province of Liège, and the German city of Aachen met Tuesday in Spa-Francorchamps to support the development of clean hydrogen in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (EMR) triangle.

Most signed a declaration of common interest, ‘The Francorchamps Hydrogen Initiative’. Philippe Henry (Ecolo), Walloon Minister of Climate, Energy, Mobility, and Infrastructure, was the first to affix his signature.

Local infrastructure chain

The initiative, organized by the EMR H2 Booster project, a consortium of nine partners who have joined forces to accelerate the development of clean hydrogen in the Meuse-Rhine Euregio, should pave the way for the development of local infrastructure for the production, transport, and distribution of hydrogen.

It should also benefit the development of a fleet of heavy vehicles such as coaches, trucks, and refrigerated trucks that run on hydrogen, and a fleet of hydrogen-powered barges. This should lead to an ecosystem with players from across the hydrogen value chain.

According to the initiators, the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, in their most ambitious decarbonization scenario, considers that hydrogen and its derivatives could account for up to 45% of the future fuels used by river barges on the Rhine. Other projects of hydrogen barges are also in development along the Meuse and Albert Canals.

In fact, several hydrogen plants are on the way in Belgium, including in Antwerp, Ghent, Ostend, and Zeebrugge. And there is also Hyve, a consortium with several Belgian hydrogen specialists conducting research to make green hydrogen production more efficient.

Environmental opportunity

“In this short energy circuit, industrialists and territories can see their energetic autonomy strengthened, but jobs and new industrial ecosystems can also emerge,” said Minister Henry. “Hydrogen represents an economic and environmental opportunity that allows the decarbonization of sectors that were thought to be impossible to decarbonize.”

Overall, the transport sector accounts for more than a quarter of all European greenhouse gas emissions.

The signing of the declaration was preceded by a demonstration of various hydrogen-powered vehicles on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. The presence of these trucks was a first in Wallonia.