Innovation Forum
Clean Hydrogen Partnership webpage
IMPORTANT: Please note that the Innovation Forum is taking place at the Thon Hotel EU.
For any enquiries, please contact events@clean-hydrogen.europa.eu.
DAY 4
THURSDAY, 02.10.2025
DRIVING EUROPE'S COMPETITIVENESS AND MARKET UPTAKE WITH R&I IN CLEAN HYDROGEN TECHNOLOGIES
09:30–10:00
Registration (onsite)
10:00 – 10:30
Opening
Welcome remarks – Valerie Bouillon-Delporte, Executive Director, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Keynote speech – Dr. Danica Maljković, Chair of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Governing Board
Keynote speech – Elena Martines – Member of Cabinet, EU Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation of the European Commission
10:30 – 11:00
Coffee break
11:00 – 12:00
Nurturing Competitive Champions: The Clean Hydrogen Partnership’s Role in Scaling EU Hydrogen Start-ups
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership has acted as a vital nursery for champions by not only accelerating technology development but by supporting Start-ups to become competitive players on the global stage. Panellists will bring first-hand testimony about how JU support translated into real-world growth and also explore the Partnership’s huge potential to generate new Start-ups by helping researchers cross the “valley of death” and ultimately to boost EU competitiveness by growing a resilient hydrogen industry.
Setting the scene: Mirela Atanasiu, Head of Unit Operations and Communication, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Moderation: Pere Margalef Valldeperez, Director of Decarbonization Technologies, SNAM and industry representative of the Governing Board, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Panel discussion with:
Nicolas Brahy, General counsel, public affairs and ESG Director, Hy24
Tom Houghton, Partner, ERM
Julie Mougin, Deputy Director for Hydrogen Technologies, CEA - DES/LITEN
Alice Ruczinski, Director of Public Funding, Lhyfe
Dennis Schulz, CEO, ITM Power (tbc)
12:00 – 13:30
Lunch break
13:30 – 13:45
Keynote speech – Alexandre Paquot, Director, Innovation for Low Carbon, Resilient Economy, DG CLIMA , European Commission (TBC)
13:45 – 15:30
Clean Hydrogen Partnership – Unleashing the Power of Synergies
Setting the scene – JU work on synergies: Renata Kadric, Project Officer, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Part 1: Institutional Synergies: The value of joining forces on a joint goal in Innovation & Research
Moderation: Beatrice Coda, Head of Unit, DG RTD, European Commission
Panel Discussion with:
Ian Faye, Director for Public Funding - Power Solutions & Electrified Motion, Robert Bosch and industry representative of the Governing Board, Clean Hydrogen Partnership & 2Zero partnership
Jaap Gebraad, Waterborne Secretary-General
Axel Krein, Executive Director CAJU
•
Nils Røkke, SINTEF, Chair of the Stakeholders Group, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Part 2: Funding Synergies: Combining funding for accelerating the development of local ecosystems and bridging the gap to overcome the valley of death
Moderation: Mirela Atanasiu, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Panel Discussion with:
Tudor Constantinescu, Principal Adviser, DG Energy, European Commission
Konstantinos Chatzifotis, EU Affairs Manager of Motor Oil Group & Trieres Valley representative
Richard Ferrer, Head of Innovation and Alternative Fuels sector, CINEA
Wolfgang Münch, Senior Expert, DG REGIO – Smart and Sustainable Growth, European Commission
Alessandro Noce, Director General, Italian Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security (TBC)
15:30-15:45 | Keynote speech – Fotini Ioannidou, Director, Waterborne Transport, DG MOVE European Commission
15:30 – 15:45
Keynote speech – Fotini Ioannidou, Director, Waterborne Transport, DG MOVE European Commission
15:45 – 16:00
Coffee break
16:00 – 16:45
Skill, upskill, reskill: 360 degrees
Setting the scene: Alberto Garcia Hombrados, Project Officer, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Moderation by Viviana Cigolotti, Head of Division Technologies and Vectors for Decarbonization, ENEA
Panel Discussion with:
Andrei Bunis, DG Employment, European Commission
Christina Louw, Senior Energy Analyst, Green Cape, IPHE Skills Task Force
Nikolaos Ntavos, Co-Founder and Manager at CluBE
Robert Steinberger-Wilckens, Director of the Centre for Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Research, University of Birmingham, Representative of the European Hydrogen Academy (HyAcademy)
16:45-17:30
High-level discussion: Make Europe a Hydrogen Champion (Again) – What’s next?
Moderation: Valerie Bouillon-Delporte, Executive Director, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Panel Discussion with:
Luigi Crema, President of Hydrogen Europe Research
Joanna Drake, Deputy Director-General, DG Directorate-General Research and Innovation (RTD)
Dr Danica Maljković, Chair of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Governing Board
17:30-17:45
Closing
Valerie Bouillon Delporte, Executive Director, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO, Hydrogen Europe
17:45-19:30
Networking Reception
DAY 5
FRIDAY, 03.10.2025
ACCELERATING GREEN GROWTH: EU START-UPS DRIVING CLEAN HYDROGEN SOLUTIONS
09:00–10:00
Welcome coffee
10:00 – 10:10
Introduction, setting the scene: Mirela Atanasiu, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
10:10 – 11:30
Success stories: Start-ups take the floor
Moderation by Antonio Aguillo Rullan, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Panel discussion:
Andrés Galnares, Founder and CEO of H2Site
Lisa Kylhammar, Senior Vice-President, PowerCell (tbc)
Florence Lambert, CEO, Genvia
Enn Õunpuu, CEO, ELCOGEN (TBC)
Daniel Sobek, Co-Founder and CEO, 1s1 Energy
11:30 – 13:00
“Go to market” – what’s next?
Setting the scene: Presentation of the plan to have 2026 dedicated topic and concept of Start-up facility in 2027 , Antonio Aguillo Rullan, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
Moderation by Marco Molica Colella, R&D Manager, Hydrogen Europe
Panellists:
Carmen Font, CEO, Font Corporation
Anna Krzyżanowska, Adviser of the Taskforce on Start-ups & Scale-ups, DG Research & Innovation
Fabio Lancellotti, Partner, Aster (VC)
Anne Marie Sassen, Head of Unit, Programme Managers’ Office,
13:00
Closing notes: Valerie Bouillon Delporte, Executive Director, Clean Hydrogen Partnership
13:00 – 14:00
Networking lunch