20 Austrian (non-)university institutions are at the forefront of research into green hydrogen technologies in Europe. These competencies are bundled together in the current “H2 Research Map”. Conclusion: Styria accounts for around 60 percent of these pioneering achievements, the focus is shifting to industrial applications and the number of researchers has risen by around 50 (!) percent in the last two years to almost 480 people
As predicted, the EU Green Deal has led to a high level of momentum and concentration for industrial, grid-supporting and mobile applications of hydrogen on the path to climate neutrality. This is also underlined by the latest update of the H2 Research Map Austria. Together with the ACstyria mobility cluster, the Green Tech Valley cluster has taken a close look at Austria’s university and non-university research institutions in order to present the thematic priorities, the size and equipment of the laboratories and the contact persons for cooperation with companies in a bundled form.
Sharp increase in researchers in hydrogen technologies
A total of 20 institutes with 478 hydrogen researchers (full-time equivalents) were recorded here across Austria. This represents an increase of around 50% compared to the last survey in 2021. And: more than 60% of Austria’s hydrogen researchers are concentrated in the green market, followed by Vienna.
Together with the K1 centers HyCentA, Large Engines Competence Center LEC and BEST Bioenergy and Sustainable Technologies as well as other TU Graz institutes with around 190 researchers in this field, the TU Graz campus is Austria’s hotspot for hydrogen research. This also puts Austria among the top 3 in the EU, after Jülich (Germany) and Sintef (Norway). Other national centers are the University of Leoben and the Vienna University of Technology. These beacons, which are joined by other (non-)university development centers, together form the cornerstones of the H2 Research Map Austria.
Shift in focus towards industrial use
The research focus of the individual institutes and centers has shifted slightly in recent years, explains Bernhard Puttinger, Cluster Managing Director of Green Tech Valley: “The current issues have shifted from H2 production, storage & distribution to increased research activities for H2 use in industry. This shows that developments here are clearly going beyond pure basic research and that innovative applications are being established in cooperation with companies in the country.”
Research Minister Barbara Eibinger-Miedl emphasizes that this can only be achieved with a strong, joint effort: “Research, development and innovation are the basis for successfully mastering the green transformation. Hydrogen-based technologies in particular offer a wide range of opportunities here. Local universities, research centers and companies are working on numerous projects to continuously improve and expand the possible uses of hydrogen. This strengthens our position as a model region in this area.”
ACstyria Managing Director Thomas Krenn also emphasizes the great potential that hydrogen research holds for industry, especially in the automotive sector, and which needs to be leveraged: “Sustainably produced hydrogen offers considerable potential, especially with regard to the decarbonization of the transport sector. As a result, the energy carrier has become considerably more important in recent years. We are convinced that hydrogen can make an important contribution to the sustainable transformation of mobility. We will play a key role in supporting this development in order to help create highly skilled jobs and promote innovation in this country.”
