Hydrogen doesn’t stop at borders — and neither do we!

On 26 September, the German-Dutch County Conference at Connectr – Energy Innovation in Arnhem took a major step toward a joint cross-border hydrogen infrastructure between Germany and the Netherlands. The participating regions agreed to strengthen cooperation within the TECH.LAND framework and support the objectives of the H₂EART coalition.

Key Focus Areas of the Joint Agenda

The conference agenda emphasized:

• Promoting innovation and technology transfer

• Reducing CO₂ emissions

• Strengthening industrial and research capacities

• Developing hydrogen storage capabilities

Voices from the Conference

As Kathrin Gödecke, Vice President of IHK Nord Westfalen, highlighted:

“Hydrogen is the energy carrier of the future — the energy transition will not be possible without it.”

She also stressed the importance of closer collaboration in research and trade, underlining the strong connections between the Arnhem-Nijmegen region and the northern Ruhr area in energy supply, circular economy, and transport infrastructure.

Strengthening Cross-Border Collaboration

For TECH.LAND, it is encouraging to see strong support from our regional partners in Provincie Overijssel, Provincie Gelderland, and the Münsterland/Emscher-Lippe region. There is growing alignment around the H₂ Roadmap, with H2EART serving as a backbone for hydrogen collaboration between Oost Nederland and Münsterland.

A special thank you to Helga Witjes, Katharina Kampmann, and the team for the invitation and warm welcome!