- The round table was part of the official program of the Greencities & S-Moving 2024 Fair, at FYCMA, Malaga Trade Fair and Congress Centre.
- The Finnova Foundation led the debate with the moderation of its CEO, Juan Manuel Revuelta, and prominent representatives of the public sector and mobility.
Within the framework of the Greencities & S-Moving 2024 fair, held at the Malaga Trade Fair and Congress Centre (FYCMA), a key round table for the future of sustainable mobility took place yesterday, 25 September: “Sustainable transport and mobility: the promotion of green hydrogen”, led by Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation.
The event brought together leading figures from the public and urban spheres, such as Daniel Ulrich, Deputy Mayor for Mobility, Urban Planning and Public Works of the Nuremberg City Council, José Conrado Martínez, Deputy Director of Strategic Innovation (CTO) of ADIF, and Agustín Navarro, Councilor for Development, Urban Planning, Sustainable Mobility and Housing of the Santander City Council.
Green hydrogen, one of the renewable energies with the greatest potential for the future, has been the focus of discussion in terms of its feasibility, implementation strategies and administrative barriers. During the debate, the role of European funds as one of the main sources of financing for green hydrogen projects was highlighted, an example of this is the challenge presented at the Accelerathon within the RES4CITY project, funded by Horizon Europe, with a budget of 2.5 million euros, which seeks to develop renewable energy solutions to create sustainable systems in urban environments.
Juan Manuel Revuelta also highlighted the importance of one of the projects that is already addressing these challenges: LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0. With a budget of 970,000 euros, co-financed by the European Union’s LIFE programme, this project aims to optimise anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment plants through the use of biogas generated from organic waste. This initiative focuses on the efficient use of resources and the reduction of emissions, directly contributing to the transition to more sustainable transport and mobility.
During the debate, Juan Manuel Revuelta raised essential issues for the advancement of green hydrogen. One of them has focused on strategies to attract European funds for this area. Agustín Navarro, representative of Santander, said: “We are committed to the future of these urban technologies. Currently, we have incipient projects in Cantabria, where we are already working on the manufacture of green hydrogen with two projects five years ahead.”
The need to create solid regulations that allow the adoption of this type of technology has been another axis of conversation shared by the speakers. José Conrado Martínez, from ADIF, stressed the importance of overcoming the lack of regulations in the railway sector: “We still do not have enough experience for installations of this type, which leads us to a detailed analysis to propose appropriate regulations”.
In addition, the importance of identifying the legal and administrative barriers that hinder the adoption of green hydrogen in public transport was discussed. Daniel Ulrich, Deputy Mayor of Nuremberg, gave a practical insight into the financial challenges to the adoption of this technology: “The main challenge is not so much the legislation, but the investment required. Renewing our bus fleet and adapting our infrastructures for the use of green hydrogen requires a considerable economic effort. If we want to move in this direction, we must now decide whether to invest in hydrogen or in other alternatives such as electric mobility.”
Ulrich also emphasised the importance of not missing opportunities for investment in innovation: “The decisions we make today will shape our future. We have to bet on hydrogen for industrial processes and mobility if we want to be prepared for tomorrow’s energy needs.”
For his part, Agustín Navarro pointed out the local challenges in Spain: “Our technicians are not yet used to handling this technology, and current regulations complicate the creation of facilities, even for a simple hydrogen refueling station.”
Juan Manuel Revuelta closed the session by highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration to advance in this area: “At Finnova we make visible projects financed by European funds, such as the Horizon Europe RES4CITY project, and we will continue to promote initiatives such as the Startup Europe Awards, which seek to recognize the best startups in the field of sustainable mobility and green hydrogen.”
About the Finnova Foundation
The Finnova Foundation is a European entity with headquarters in Brussels and Spain, which promotes public-private cooperation through innovation, facing social challenges such as employment, training, entrepreneurship and sustainability. It organizes the Startup Europe Awards, an initiative of the European Commission and the Finnova Foundation, to recognize the best startups in the social and sustainable field.