The Interreg AIHRE project has entered its final phase, leaving behind significant progress in the field of renewable hydrogen and strengthening cooperation between Spanish and Portuguese entities to promote a more sustainable, innovative, and decarbonized economy.
Project follow-up meeting in Évora
Representatives from the nine entities that make up the AIHRE consortium met on May 7th in the Portuguese city of Évora for the project’s final quarterly follow-up meeting ahead of its closure.
During the meeting, partners focused their presentations on the progress of the different work packages and on wrapping up outstanding technical activities.
One of the main topics discussed was the upcoming publication of the «AIHRE Open Innovation» catalogue, a tool designed to showcase the consortium partners’ capabilities, expertise, and collaboration opportunities. Through this catalogue, the AIHRE consortium aims to foster synergies, facilitate knowledge exchange, and promote new cooperation opportunities among companies, research institutions, public administrations, and other relevant players in the innovation ecosystem. This catalogue is now available on the project’s website.
Partners also reviewed the implementation of the project’s Communication and Dissemination Plan, which has entered a phase specifically focused on sharing results, with the aim of maximizing the impact and visibility of the progress achieved by the initiative.
AIHRE at Hyceltec
Ahead of its closing event, the AIHRE project stepped up efforts to disseminate the results achieved throughout its implementation. In this context, several consortium members (CIDAUT, INTA, University of Seville, IPP, and University of Évora) took part in the international Hyceltec 2026 conference, held in Alicante from June 8th to 11th, with the goal of bringing the initiative’s progress to the scientific, technological, and industrial community specializing in hydrogen technologies.
Organized by the University of Alicante, Hyceltec has established itself as a leading interdisciplinary forum for researchers and professionals interested in hydrogen, fuel cells, advanced batteries, supercapacitors, and other energy storage systems. The event brought together representatives from academia, technology centers, research organizations, and industry, fostering knowledge exchange and new cooperation opportunities.
During the conference, AIHRE representatives had the opportunity to share the consortium’s main results, along with the experiences and lessons learned throughout the project’s development.
The closing event brought together part of Spain and Portugal’s renewable hydrogen ecosystem in Valladolid
On June 22nd and 23rd, the AIHRE project held its closing event at the headquarters of CIDAUT (Valladolid), the initiative’s coordinating entity. The gathering provided an opportunity to take stock of the main results achieved and to strengthen collaboration among the players that make up the renewable hydrogen value chain in the Spain-Portugal cross-border region.
The agenda was structured over two days with different objectives. The first day was dedicated to the consortium’s final meeting, during which the nine partners reviewed the status of the last deliverables and addressed the technical and administrative matters needed to successfully complete the project’s official closure, scheduled for the end of June.
The second day featured the open event «Innovation and Cooperation for Renewable Hydrogen,» where AIHRE’s main achievements were presented to representatives of companies, technology centers, public administrations, clusters, universities, and other key players in the renewable hydrogen ecosystem.
Among the results presented, a highlight was the launch of the AIHRE Sizing Platform, a tool designed to carry out a preliminary assessment of the technical, economic, and environmental feasibility of renewable hydrogen projects. Conceived as a decision-support tool for the early stages of project development, the platform allows users to analyze different technological configurations and business models, facilitating the planning of future initiatives.
The event also included a review of the various technical publications produced within the framework of the project, as well as updates on the AIHRE ecosystem, another key milestone of the initiative.
The day concluded with a round table on the future of renewable hydrogen in the POCTEP area, featuring Javier Robador (H2CYL), Joaquín Villar (Andalusian Energy Agency), Brais Armiño (DigHy), and Francisco Machado (INEGI). During the discussion, the speakers shared their views on the main challenges and opportunities for building a competitive cross-border ecosystem around this technology.
With this event, AIHRE brings 36 months of cooperation between Spanish and Portuguese entities to a close, leaving behind a legacy of new tools, knowledge, and collaboration networks that will help accelerate the development of renewable hydrogen and strengthen innovation across the POCTEP area.