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Vanguard member South Tyrol selected as lighthouse project by Mission Innovation

Vanguard member South Tyrol selected as lighthouse project by Mission Innovation

Ryan Titley 2 minutes

The Hydrogen Valley South Tyrol is one of 40 lighthouse projects that have been selected by the Mission Innovation as a particularly successful project. The 40 projects share one common goal; the promotion of hydrogen as a sustainable link between energy and mobility. 

The Mission Innovation (MI) has been formed under the leadership of the European Commission with participation from several European countries, including Austria, Italy, France and Denmark. China, Australia, the USA and several South American countries also participate. The aim of MI is to accelerate global clean energy innovation with the objective to make clean energy widely affordable.

"It is a great honour that South Tyrol has been selected as an international lighthouse project for hydrogen", underlines President Arno Kompatscher. “The timing also fits in perfectly with our programmes: the Corona crisis is putting all sectors of the local economy and every one of us to the test. A new beginning must follow from this crisis, both here and worldwide, which must be as sustainable as possible right from the start. And hydrogen, I'm convinced, will play an important role in this.” 

The concept for the Hydrogen Valley South Tyrol was developed by the Institute for Innovative Technologies (IIT) in cooperation with the Brenner Motorway and Alperia - which means that an important domestic energy supplier is also on board. "We want to bring renewable energy for all forms of electro-mobility and all vehicle categories onto the road and will continue to increase our commitment to hydrogen," says Johann Wohlfahrter, General Director of Alperia. The Hydrogen Valley has been elaborated in three expansion stages: 

  • Implementation of the successful EU pilot projects "CHIC" and "HyFIVE" in the field of electric fuel cell buses and cars.
  • Regional roll-out is being realized via the projects "Mehrlin, "JIVE" and "LIFEalps", which are supported by the South Tyrolean Provincial Government and the EU, and which will enable the regional roll-out of the Hydrogen Valley, i.e. the infrastructures for battery and hydrogen mobility will be expanded, several fleets of vehicles will be put on the roads to boost emission-free services in various sectors, e.g. local public transport or tourism. 
  • Regional expansion will be followed by interregional and international expansion in the third and final phase.

To learn more about the Hydrogen Valley South Tyrol, please contact: 

Elisabeth Oberparleiter, Tel: +39 0471 1964 885

IIT- Institut für Innovative Technologien 

IIT- Istituto per Innovazioni Tecnologiche

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