Official Launch of Risavika Hydrogen Hub Arena

Research, industry, funding agencies, and public institutions gathered in Risavika for the official launch of the Risavika Hydrogen Hub (RHH). The hub will serve as a new innovation arena, bringing together stakeholders to develop hydrogen value chains that promote energy transition and value creation.

RHH Arena will establish a platform for sustainable transition and value creation in the years ahead.

‍The goal is to connect partners in new innovation initiatives and build integrated value chains in the region.

The hub will also serve as a competence arena, hosting events for experience and knowledge sharing. In this way, it will become a strategic hub for technology development and for scaling concepts — from idea and pilot phase to full industrialization.

— Innovation must be a growth engine for the future, and we must therefore organize ourselves to make far greater use of the knowledge we develop. Risavika Hydrogen Hub will serve as a connector to make exactly that happen, says Project Manager and Deputy EVP Hans Kleivdal at NORCE.

— In recent years, we have learned that the key to advancing hydrogen lies in demonstrating the entire value chain – from production to use. We will do this together with RHH, industry partners, and funding agencies in Norway and the EU, says Egil Aanestad, Managing Director of the Energy Transition Norway cluster.

Together with Egil Aanestad from Energy Transition Norway and the University of Stavanger, Kleivdal and his colleague Ying Guo have developed the project over several years.

The kick-off meeting took place at NORCE Technology Park Risavika, where RHH has its project space, which is also open to the network. The program began with a tour of laboratories and pilot halls already used for testing new energy technologies. It provides a fitting starting point for further development of the test center and new projects within hydrogen and the circular economy.

Bridging the gap between ideas and industrial implementation

During the opening, Tore Meinert from Rogaland County Council described the potential of the initiative: ‍

— The vision for RHH is to be able to demonstrate the entire value chain for hydrogen. But it’s not only about technology – it’s about collaboration, transition, and action.

He emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between ideas and industrial implementation, and of using RHH as a platform where innovation, expertise, and cooperation can bring hydrogen technologies from concept to reality.

NORCE has extensive experience in developing circular ecosystems for collaboration and innovation. The organization highlighted that the RHH project has already developed a Green Platform funding application together with SEID. Further development of new proposals in collaboration with the network will be a key part of the project’s deliverables.

National and Industrial Perspectives

Tor Kristian Haldorsen from the Norwegian Hydrogen Forum provided an overview of the Norwegian hydrogen landscape. Investments in hydrogen are increasing rapidly, and the number of projects is growing quickly across the entire value chain. He pointed out that there is now a need for measures to stimulate demand for hydrogen.

Øystein Huglen from Maritime Cleantech highlighted the opportunities and driving forces in the maritime sector. He showed how hydrogen-based fuels will play a key role in the transition to zero-emission solutions and noted that the maritime industry will become an important customer group for the hydrogen sector moving forward.

Terje Hauan from SEID addressed the topics of energy security and material resilience. He presented the Coldspark project, which is developing a groundbreaking methane pyrolysis technology used to produce hydrogen and solid carbon.
— We produce hydrogen without emitting CO₂, and the solid carbon is a valuable raw material, Hauan said.

Workshop: Needs, Priorities, and Next Steps

After the presentations, hydrogen stakeholders took part in a workshop on developing the hydrogen economy for a sustainable transition in Rogaland and on how the Risavika Hydrogen Hub can be further advanced. The discussions included how to build a viable regional market, what is needed to move from ideas and pilot projects to full-scale solutions, and how RHH can contribute with test facilities, expertise, and an active innovation arena.

The discussions revealed a shared understanding of the need to develop supply and demand in parallel, strengthen communication, collaboration, and competence, and use public procurement to drive the market forward. Participants emphasized the importance of showcasing the entire value chain for the sustainable use of hydrogen, while keeping profitability in focus. They also highlighted how synergies and cooperation through industrial symbioses can strengthen both profitability and value creation.

NORCE Technology Park Risavika, which houses the Risavika Hydrogen Hub, is a purpose-built facility for testing gas technologies, with its own gas pipeline directly from Kårstø. It is a unique test center where both individual technologies and complete processes can be tested and further developed. Through the establishment of a collaborative ecosystem, RHH will serve as a low-threshold platform for industry, research, and other stakeholders who wish to test, learn, and develop new solutions together.

‍For more information and updates on the development of the Risavika Hydrogen Hub, you can join the network here.

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Project website: www.risavikahydrogenhub.no
Contact: Hans Kleivdal, NORCE – hakl@norceresearch.no

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