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The main objective of ELEVATECEE is to enhance the capacity of Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary’s bordering regions to identify potential value chains—from energy generation and hydrogen production to transport and storage—focusing on hard-to-abate industrial sectors to meet climate targets and modernize industry, including secondary value chains like oxygen and other hydrogen derivatives.

This will be achieved by:

  • Engaging stakeholders across the quadruple helix (government, industry, academia, civil society) from all countries engaged, setting a framework for progress, and providing a platform for developing common projects
  • Mapping ongoing and planned activities to understand value chains and pre-identify favourable project opportunities for stakeholders.
  • Co-developing project ideas in international consortia into mature concepts ready to launch post-project
  • Forming a group of enabling stakeholders across the quadruple helix to resolve regulatory and financing challenges hindering cross-border projects and participating in skills development to review regulations and recommend improvements, increasing investment readiness.
  • Implementing a skills development work package interacting with all engaged stakeholders to ensure impact beyond the project’s lifetime and enhance efficiency.
  • Communicating with European platforms to create replicating regions and raise awareness of the project’s outcomes.

ELEVATECEE aims to create an interregional, resilient innovation ecosystem in the Slovakia-Austria-Hungary border region. Stakeholders will engage along the value chain to develop a pipeline of investment projects, increasing investment readiness and capacity to build interregional businesses, serving as a role model for other cross-border regions. The project will explore accessing assistance from programs like ERDF (e.g., Interreg) and aim for projects in Horizon Europe and the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.  Other financial tools like the European Hydrogen Bank and Innovation Fund are also to be considered.

By connecting key regions in Slovakia, Hungary and Austria, the project builds capacities to implement business investments in the green transition, hydrogen economy and industry modernization.

ELEVATECEE is aligned with the European Green Deal’s goal to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, the project focuses on investing in green technologies like CCUS and hydrogen. The EU Industrial Carbon Management Strategy emphasizes CO₂ capture and storage (CCS), CO₂ utilization (CCU), and atmospheric CO₂ removal. This requires the establishment of CO₂ transport infrastructure. The EU Hydrogen Strategy aims to produce 10 million tons of domestic renewable hydrogen and import an additional 10 million tons by 2030, prioritizing use in hard-to-reach industries and emphasizing an open EU market with cross-border trade.

Slovakia

aims to reduce GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990, targeting climate neutrality by 2050. Its CCS National Roadmap highlights CCUS’s role in decarbonizing sectors like cement, chemicals, and steel. Domestic hydrogen consumption will be met by electrolysers and low- emission production methods, with the National Hydrogen Strategy approved in 2022. ELEVATECEE builds on Slovakia’s hydrogen infrastructure, including IPCEI projects like underground hydrogen storage (Nafta a,s,), hydrogen transmission repurposing (Eustream), and hydrogen-powered VTOL aircraft (TOMARK PROTON). The Slovak Hydrogen Backbone, Eustream’s flagship project, will enable hydrogen transmission between Ukraine, the Czech Republic, and Austria, with a new interconnector to Hungary. The gas distribution system of SPP-distribúcia, a,s, will play a key role in delivering hydrogen.

Hungary

targets a GHG emission reduction of at least 50% from 1990 levels by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Guided by its National Energy and Climate Plan and National Clean Development Strategy, it invests in forestry and CCS technologies, emphasizing CCUS in decarbonizing heavy industries. The National Hydrogen Strategy (2021) aims for annual hydrogen production of 36,000 tons by 2030, reducing CO₂ emissions and establishing at least 20 hydrogen refuelling stations. Key initiatives include the Transdanubian, Győr, and Northeastern Hydrogen Valleys, and projects like the Aquamarine Project at Kardoskút, the GOLIAT Project focusing on aviation refuelling technologies, and EUH2STARS demonstrating underground hydrogen storage.

Austria

aims for net zero emissions by 2040, with a 55% GHG reduction by 2030 relative to 1990 levels. The Austrian National Carbon Management Strategy focuses on CCUS and Carbon Dioxide Removal to tackle residual emissions, recommending lifting the ban on CO₂ geological storage and establishing legal frameworks. The Austrian Hydrogen Strategy lays the foundation for an innovative hydrogen economy, aiming to build 1 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030 and enhancing international partnerships. WIVA P&G coordinates projects demonstrating the hydrogen value chain and aims to establish three hydrogen valleys: HI2-Valley in Central Austria, HyWest (Brenner Valley) in Western Austria, and H2REAL in Eastern Austria.

From this established hydrogen framework, ELEVATECEE operates to establish a robust cross-border hydrogen ecosystem. By connecting key stakeholders from the regions in Slovakia, Hungary and Austria. The project identifies gaps along the value chain and creates a pipeline of investment-ready projects. ELEVATECEE aims to positions this cross-border region as a collaborative model for other European hydrogen initiatives, supporting a shared path to carbon neutrality and industrial modernization for all of Europe.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the granting authority. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.