The North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley is a partnership of 3 7 organisations operating in the ltalian Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Croatia and Slovenia. The initiative was launched in 2021 with the aim to jointly contribute to the European Green Deal and the European Hydrogen Strategy goals by creating a crossregional innovation ecosystem that will boost energy transition and accelerate the deployment of hydrogenbased solutions. In particular, the objective is to develop 17 testbed applications in the energy, transport and hard-to-abate sectors as a step towards ensuring security of energy supply and clean energy transitions as well as towards the energy independence of the Centrai European area. This coordinated action received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme and is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members, by Eurelectric and over 40 other organisations. This initiative which was awarded the Seal of Excellence under Horizon Europe will last for 6 years.
With the mission of promoting Italian excellence and cooperation with the neighbouring countries on topics of mutuai interest and concem, the Embassy of Italy in Zagreb chose this initiative that supports research and innovation in hydrogen technologies to mark the Italian Research Day in the World. This Day is celebrated, since 2018, on the 15th Aprii, the anniversary of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Intemational Cooperation, through its diplomatic offices around the world, supports the initiative by promoting the image of ltaly that produces high-quality science and innovation and by organising events involving renowned Italian scientists, researchers and representatives of national technology companies: points of excellence that bear witness to the distinction of Italy' s scientific and technological excellence.
Working together with the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the ltalian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce, the Embassy gathered some ofthe partners in the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley together with other relevant stakeholders in the renewable energy industry in ltaly and Croatia to provide an overview of the initial phase of this ambitious transnational project and some of the next steps to be taken in the spirit of cooperation and shared commitment to decarbonisation and sustainable transformation of the energy sector in the regi on.
PROGRAMME
10.00 Opening remarks
- Mr Tomislav Radoš, Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy for Industry and Sustainable Development ▪ Ms Kristina Čelić, Director for Energy at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development ▪ Mr Aldo Di Biagio, President of the Italian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce
- Mr Paolo Trichilo, Italian Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia
10.35 Introductory presentations
- Mr Stephen J. Taylor, Strategic Coordinator of the Joint Working Group of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley ▪ Ms Marija Šćulac, Director of the Industry and Sustainable Development Sector of the Croatian Chamber of Economy
11.00 Coffee break
11.15 Round-table discussion
The main challenges in the creation of a hydrogen-based economy and how to overcome them ▪ Mr Corrado Clini, Former Minister for Environment of Italy
- Mr Tomaž Štokelj, CEO of Holding slovenske elektrarne d.o.o. TBC
- Mr Bojan Reščec, Executive Manager at RP Global, Chairman of Wind Energy Group, RES Association of the Croatian Chamber of Economy
- Mr Vjekoslav Jukić, Head of the Sector for Energy Policy and Planning of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development
Q&A
12.00 Hydrogen project presentations
- Mr Andrea Pitacco, Member of the Board of Directors of SECOM s.r.l.
- Mr Boris Miljavac, Managing Director of Siemens Energy d.o.o. TBC
- Mr Giangiacomo Caldara, Member of the Board of Directors, Delegate for Institutional Relations of SIAD s.p.a. ▪ Ms Danica Maljković, Energy and Sustainability Director at DOK-ING Indeloop d.o.o. and President of the Hydrogen Group at the Croatian Chamber of Economy
Q&A
12.30 Round-table discussion
The role of the private sector in developing and deploying hydrogen technologies and in making green hydrogen competitive with fossil fuels and renewables
Moderator: Ms Željka Rukavina, Independent Advisor at the Energy, Environment and Utilities Division of the Croatian Chamber of Economy
- Ms Anna Mareschi Danieli, Vice Chairwoman of ABS, Danieli & C Officine Meccaniche s.p.a. Group ▪ Ms Federica Zagarella, Project Manager at Clean Technology System H2 s.r.l.
- Mr Sergio Vinci, CEO of Faber Industrie s.p.a.
- Croatian partners/projects in North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley TBD
Q&A
13.15 Closing session – key messages
13.30 Buffet lunch
The event will be moderated by Ms Andrea Perkov, General Director of the Italian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce. The working language of the conference is English.
