A Collaborative Network of 8 Hydrogen Valleys
ValHyCon

2026-2028

ValHyCon brings together a unique consortium of eight key players from across Northwest Europe, each actively developing a HydrogenValley - local ecosystems that integrate hydrogen production, transport, storage, and end-use. These valleys act as growth hubs for scaling up hydrogen deployment, contributing to Europe’s ambition of establishing 100 hydrogen valleys in the near future. Until now, each hydrogen valley has largely focused on its own challenges, yet it became clear that many face similar obstacles. ValHyCon is designed to foster transnational collaboration, enabling these eight emerging hydrogen valleys to learn from each other and scale up their impact together.

The consortium includes: Cluster TWEED (Green WaHyVe, BE), HydrogenIreland (SH2AMROCK, IE), HyCologne Wasserstoff Region Rheinland e.V. (Hydrogen Valley RheinRuhr, DE), HyNorth (NL), @Hydrogen Valley Emsland (DE), University of Luxembourg (LuxHyVal, LU), Pôlénergie (FR) and WaterstofNet (FLHyPorts, BE)

ValHyCon recognizes that strong transnational collaboration is crucial to accelerating the development of hydrogen valleys. By bringing partners together, the project creates opportunities to share knowledge, exchange best practices, and learn from one another. In doing so, it helps address common challenges more effectively and amplifies the collective impact of all participating regions.

§ Project objectives:

  •  Exchange and document best practices and lessons learned
  • Launch concrete pilot initiatives for cross-border collaboration
  • Develop a coordinated long-term strategy to physically connect hydrogen valleys


Mid March 2026 the Interreg North-West Europe (NWE) ) project ValHyCon was officially launched in Zeebrugge.

During the kick-off all partners shared insights into their regional ecosystems. It was inspiring to see the diversity of initiatives, strong ambitions, and commitment to move forward with realistic goals beyond the hydrogen hype.

The partners visited the HyOffWind project, marking a first tangible milestone in the FLHyPorts hydrogen valley. HyOffWIND is a 25 MW electrolyser plant developed by Virya Energy and Messer Technische Gase - offering a tangible glimpse into large-scale renewable hydrogen production in practice.

Role of WaterstofNet

WaterstofNet coordinates the project and is responsible for communication, in close collaboration with project partners.

The project is funded by Interreg North-West Europe

Project partners

  • Cluster TWEED (Green WaHyVe, BE)
  • HydrogenIreland (SH2AMROCK, IE)
  • HyCologne Wasserstoff Region Rheinland (DE)
  • HyNorth (NL)
  • Hydrogen Valley Emsland (DE)
  • University of Luxembourg (LuxHyVal, LU),
  • Pôlénergie (FR) 
  • WaterstofNet (FLHyPorts, BE)