RegioStars: the final 25!
HyTrEc2 is in the finals of the RegioStars awards 2020!
The Interreg North Sea Region HyTrEc2 project is delivering a future where people drive vehicles using green hydrogen made from the planet's wind and solar rays. Already we have demonstrated that HyTrEc2 and other hydrogen vehicles are saving 188 tonnes of CO2e emissions. We are successfully stimulating an energy transition and clean economic growth in Europe while ensuring that businesses have the skills and knowledge needed to deliver next generation transport. The work of HyTrEc2 can greatly inform the European Union Hydrogen Strategy, to help the Europe to reach the zero emission targets, stay ahead of the Hydrogen curve and provide opportunities for redeployment in the face of the energy transition.
{Solar Powered Green Hydrogen fuels one of Gemeente Groningen's vehicles}
RegioStars is an award that highlights European Union funded projects that inspire others with the innovative approaches to regional development. The award has been running annually since 2008. There are five categories to compete under in 2020:
- “Industrial transition for a smart Europe”
- “Circular economy for a green Europe”
- “Skills & education for a digital Europe”
- “Citizen engagement for cohesive European cities”
- “Youth empowerment for cooperation across border - 30 years of Interreg”.
{RISE's Hydrogen Workshop, a vital part of HyTrEc2 is knowledge dissemination}
At the beginning of May 2020, HyTrEc2, along with a record-breaking 205 other projects, submitted an application to compete in the RegioStars award. In June it was announced HyTrEc2 had made it to the longlist of the RegioStar awards. On the 9th of July 2020, we received word that HyTrEc2 was among the top 5 of our category (Smart Growth: Industrial Transition for a Smart Europe) and would move forward to the finals!
{Aberdeen City Council have various Hydrogen powered vehicles: range-extended EVs, dual-fuel Diesel with Hydrogen injection vehicles, and FCEVs}
The top 25 will be whittled down by a combination of the public and an expert panel of judges. There will be 5 winners, one from each category and a winner of the public vote. The winners will be revealed at a special event in Brussels on the 14th of October. To vote for HyTrEc2 follow this link and click on the loveheart <3, voting for public choice closes on the 15th of September.
A big thank you to all of our lovely partners for all of their hard work. It is only through their dedication and determination to Hydrogen that this project has been so successful. The enthusiasm that Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Cenex, Drenthe, EiFi, Groningen, RISE and UiT have makes us all feel more hopeful that we can achieve a cleaner, greener future.