In episode #218 I’m joined by Susanna Kupiainen from CLIC Innovation in Finland to unpack one of the most ambitious concepts in the hydrogen field right now: hydrogen valleys. Susanna works on BalticSeaH2, an EU-funded large-scale cross-border hydrogen valley with its core between Finland and Estonia and seven connected valleys across the wider Baltic Sea region. We start with the basics: what a hydrogen valley actually is, why the concept has become such a flagship under the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, and how these valleys are designed to bring hydrogen production, transport and industrial end use close enough together to build real integrated value chains.

What makes this episode especially valuable is that Susanna goes far beyond the concept and into the practical reality of implementation. She explains how BalticSeaH2 was built from existing Nordic networks into a 40-partner, 9-country proposal, why the consortium chose to include “connected valleys” from the very beginning rather than leave replication until the end, and what that has meant in practice for learning, social acceptance work and project governance. We also talk about delays, amendments, investment uncertainty, reporting pressure and the broader policy question hanging over all of this: how to create enough demand and the right market conditions for green hydrogen to move from promising projects into a real European hydrogen economy.

Time codes:

01:57 Guest introduction and fly in

05:28 What is a Hydrogen Valley?

15:12 From Idea to Funded Flagship

25:03 Replication From Day One – The Structural Innovation

38:21 Midpoint Reflection – Is It Delivering?

49:40 Nordic Perspective: Security, Supply and Policy

56:26 Reflections and advice

01:00:31 The toughest challenge