Our Strategy for a Green Economy
Area Science Park’s contribution to the energy transition focuses on establishing an advanced hub for research, testing and innovation in hydrogen technologies. A vision that fits within the framework of the development of dedicated territorial ecosystems, already launched through the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV) and North Adriatic Smart Communities Hydrogen Accelerator (NASCHA) projects.
The creation of research infrastructures to support the transition to green hydrogen, the development of pilot plants for renewable hydrogen production and storage, applied research on materials and socio-economic analysis of the industrial sector and green value chains are just some of the initiatives currently underway.
Area Science Park’s hydrogen hub
Our goal is to create a unique research and innovation ecosystem: an advanced hub built on three strongly integrated pillars:
- the establishment of two laboratories dedicated to demonstration and experimental activities on full-scale systems;
- the analysis and modelling of experimental data and the development of a Digital Twin;
- research on key materials across the hydrogen value chain.
Two laboratories in which plant performance will be analysed plant performance under variable operating conditions, including critical scenarios, and provide the experimental data needed to assess efficiency, operational stability, service continuity and stress response.
Data management, curation, analysis and modelling are essential to transform the experimental data collected in the two dedicated laboratories into predictive and operational digital tools supporting innovation and made available to the scientific and industrial community.
Advanced study and characterisation of key materials across the entire renewable hydrogen value chain aim at direct observation — at atomic and nanometric scale—of materials and functional components under conditions close to real operating environments.
To facilitate the shift from a fossil fuel-based economy to a green economy, Area Science Park contributes to the development of a regional and cross-border ecosystem dedicated to renewable hydrogen and the adoption of innovative technologies across the European North Adriatic area.
This vision is being implemented through two key projects: the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV), aimed at developing a dedicated green hydrogen value chain hub, and the North Adriatic Smart Communities Hydrogen Accelerator (NASCHA), designed to accelerate the adoption of green hydrogen-based technological solutions.
The deployment of renewable hydrogen depends not only on technological maturity but also on the robustness of supply chains, the availability of raw materials, and their economic and social acceptability.
For this reason, we are also analysing the socio-economic and sustainability aspects of the value chain: from raw material availability and supply chain resilience to technology costs.
Research activities include the analysis of materials used in major hydrogen systems, recycling and circular economy strategies, life-cycle cost assessment, and the study of social acceptance of hydrogen technologies.
The objective is to support the development of a reliable, competitive hydrogen ecosystem aligned with regional, national and European energy transition goals.