Luxembourg has launched Luxembourg Hydrogen Valley (LuxHyVal), a project that targets the potential production of green hydrogen in Bascharage, south Luxembourg, in 2026. LuxHyVal is a collaborative effort by 17 partners from seven countries with the University of Luxembourg as the main coordinator, led by Prof. Bradley Ladewig.

The LuxHyVal hydrogen ecosystem is expected to make an important contribution to decarbonizing industrial hydrogen consumption in the country, using 100 percent renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen in Luxembourg.

Enovos and Luxenergie, both subsidiaries of Encevo Group, intend to ensure the production of up to 1,750 kg of green hydrogen per day for use in industry and mobility applications by 2026, with the involvement of engineering company Paul Wurth, brand of SMS group. The six-megawatt electrolyzer facility at the heart of the project is expected to be built in the industrial park of Bascharage. 

The project will also have a direct, positive impact on the economy through the creation of new jobs, as well as on public mobility, as the bus companies Sales-Lentz and TICE plan to upgrade part of their fleet to fuel cell hydrogen (FCH) buses. Moreover, the green hydrogen produced in the electrolyzer would enable industrial partner Ceratizit to replace its use of natural gas-derived hydrogen.

LuxHyVal is designed as an open, sustainable ecosystem. With an overall budget of 39 million euros, LuxHyVal is expected to be funded with eight million euros from the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, a European Union public-private partnership supporting research and innovation in hydrogen technologies, as well as contributions from the corporate partners, while at the same time pursuing further public and private funding opportunities. A final investment decision regarding the main capital investment for the project is likely to be made at the beginning of 2025.

Possible replication of LuxHyVal in Czech Republic and Ukraine
In a second stage, the expertise acquired by designing, building, and operating the first green hydrogen ecosystem in the Greater Region should serve as a direct model for replicating valleys in Central (Czech Republic) and Eastern Europe (Ukraine), furthering the EU’s ‘Fit for 55’ emission targets (reducing EU emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030) and helping Ukraine’s reconstruction.

“We will need hydrogen to meet the EU emission targets, and with LuxHyVal, we are trying to make concrete advances towards a sustainable and cleaner future”, said Prof. Bradley Ladewig, who is the project coordinator and holder of the Paul Wurth Chair in Energy Process Engineering. “Building large-scale industrial infrastructure takes time and effort: we need to start now.”

Stéphanie Obertin, Minister for Digitization and Minister for Research and Higher Education comments, “I welcome this initiative because it is in line with the national research and innovation strategy. Indeed, this collaborative project involving the University of Luxembourg and the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), to produce green hydrogen locally fits in perfectly with two of the country's four priority interdisciplinary research areas, industrial and service transformation, and sustainable and responsible development.” 

“The use of climate-friendly and competitively priced hydrogen will be essential to decarbonize parts of our economy. It is one of my priorities to connect Luxembourg to a European hydrogen grid, in order to guarantee access to competitive, climate-friendly hydrogen”, adds Lex Delles, Minister of Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism. “I congratulate the whole consortium for the successful launch of the LuxHyVal project.”