Waterstof Industrie Cluster: goals and activities

First and foremost, the cluster wants to be a platform for the exchange of knowledge and for setting up collaborations involving hydrogen and power-to-gas concepts. Together with the companies behind it, WaterstofNet looks for possible (pilot) projects, helps set up partnerships and assists in the search for funding. As well as this, the cluster aims to establish itself as a representative mouthpiece for matters relating to policy, towards the Flemish, Belgian and Dutch government.

To achieve these goals, the cluster comes together once every quarter in a Waterstof Industrie Cluster meeting. At these meetings, the cluster members participate in knowledge exchanges and the build-up of communal knowledge on all sorts of hydrogen-related topics. Specific subjects are more deeply investigated through interim seminars. Concrete collaborations are explored via thematic workgroups (i.e. ‘shipping and bunkering’). Every year, a work visit is planned to a hydrogen project that is underway in Belgium or abroad.

This cross-fertilisation is expected to result in project ideas that WaterstofNet will then examine and calculate the feasibility of. They then match these ideas to potential financing channels on the Flemish, Dutch or European levels. The development and realisation of demonstration projects related to hydrogen remains one of the main aims. Working out creative business models that can lead to an interesting, profitable hydrogen market is an important part of this.

The growing cluster is performing as a point of contact at the Flemish, Belgian and Dutch levels on matters involving the role of hydrogen in the future energy strategy, and as a representative mouthpiece for policy. Hydrogen will play an important role in policy decisions in the coming years. The Waterstof Industrie Cluster performs analyses and proactively provides advice aimed at the government.

Over the past three years, multiple collaborative relationships have been established and concepts investigated. The first demonstration projects are currently in the pipeline. Other collaborations have been set up as a result of EU calls. For this, as a cluster organisation, WaterstofNet serves in a coordinating role. We help to build good project construction and to lay the links with parties outside Belgium, as well as with local governments. We have noticed a growing interest in hydrogen projects and facilitate them as much as possible from the cluster.

GOALS

  • Developing and realising demonstration projects based on hydrogen, in Flanders and (southern) Netherlands.
  • Working out creative business models that may lead to an interesting, profitable hydrogen market, and provide funding guidance;
  • Exchanging knowledge and building up communal knowledge of hydrogen concepts;
  • Performing as a contact point, on the Flemish, Belgian and Dutch levels, in relation to the role of hydrogen in future energy strategies;
  • Serving as a proactive advisor to diverse governments on hydrogen developments.    

TARGET GROUP


All companies that are active in a part of the hydrogen value chain:

  • Production of renewable energy and/or hydrogen
  • The storage, transport or the distribution of hydrogen;
  • The development and/or production of hydrogen technology or components of hydrogen technology;
  • System integration and supplementary services;
  • Hydrogen applications (transport, chemistry, H2-to-power, etc.)

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