The AIHRE European project, ‘Analysis and Boosting of Renewable H2 in the POCTEP area’, has initiated its activities to accelerate the green hydrogen industry in different areas of Spain and Portugal. The initiative, which has been financed with 1.5 million euros under the third call of the Interreg VI-A Spain-Portugal Cross-Border Cooperation Programme (POCTEP) 2021-2027, counts on the participation of nine partners from the two countries, including universities, research centers and business clusters.   

AIHRE aims to create a technological and business network to harness the potential of green hydrogen generation at industrial level. The project will focus its actions in certain areas of Spain and Portugal, the so-called cooperation area or POCTEP area, which includes regions close to A Coruña, Valladolid, Huelva and Seville; and the Portuguese regions of Évora, Oporto and Portalegre. These areas stand out for their natural resources and conditions for electricity generation, as well as for a corporate structure made up of small and medium-sized businesses that could take advantage of the hydrogen technologies to be proposed in AIHRE. 

In a firm commitment to industrial decarbonisation, the project will promote the emergence of value chains based on green hydrogen that drive economic development at local and regional levels. To this end, it will involve players from the quadruple helix in its activities, namely the scientific and academic community, political decision-makers, companies from sectors such as energy or mobility, and end users. 

The AIHRE project counts on nine partners, five Spanish and four Portuguese, including CIDAUT Foundation, acting as coordinator, Technological Corporation of Andalusia (CTA), the Universities of Seville, Oporto and Évora, the Galicia Institute of Technology (ITG), the Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre (IPP), the Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering (INEGI) and the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA). Starting in July 2023, the initiative has a duration of 36 months.   

Technological development 

The analysis and development of technologies to incorporate value chains based on green hydrogen is a key element of the AIHRE project. This process will be undertaken in separate phases, ranging from the analysis of the current energy scenario to the generation of prototypes and business models.  

Particularly, during a first stage, the needs of the green hydrogen value chain in the POCTEP area will be analysed, as well as the technologies available or relevant. To this end, two co-creation workshops will be organised, one in Spain and the second one in Portugal, where key players in the hydrogen value chain will be invited to participate. Later, models and algorithms will be designed for the management of green hydrogen systems, together with prototypes for their generation, transport, storage and use. In a final phase, the viability of the business models devised around the technologies developed will be assessed. 

The tools and project outcomes shall be accessible to the public through the AIHRE website: www.aihre.eu