PACT-H2: €3 million for cross-border hydrogen

The use and production of hydrogen plays an important role in the energy transition and the achievement of climate goals. It is of central importance for the Greater Region (the cross-border cooperation area that brings together Luxembourg, Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lorraine and Wallonia) due to its industrial structure.

At the initiative of the Saarland Hydrogen Agency H2Saar, and with the support of 26 partner institutions from Germany, France, Belgium and Luxembourg, the Interreg PACT-H2 project has received funding approval from the European Union for a total amount of around €3 million over three years.

The Luxembourg partners are GPSS (which is also leading the ECHO-WAVE project), the University of Luxembourg, Creos Luxembourg Hydrogen and Luxinnovation.

PACT-H2: an Interreg project to coordinate cross-border hydrogen

In a context of major economic transformation processes, the "Hydrogen Acceptability and Cross-Border Cooperation Project" (PACT-H2) has two main objectives: to coordinate hydrogen strategies on a cross-border scale and to strengthen the social acceptance of this sector.

Of this €3 million, €1.7 million is now financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with a further €0.5 million by the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs. The remaining funds come from co-financing or from the project partners' own funds. 

Hydrogen in Luxembourg's decarbonisation strategy

Hydrogen is a resource that allows energy to be stored and released without a carbon footprint when produced from renewable energies. This 'green' hydrogen is the most sustainable solution, ideal for decarbonising industry, as opposed to 'grey' hydrogen, which is mainly produced by reforming natural gas, and 'blue' hydrogen, also produced from natural gas, but in a process that captures and stores the CO₂ generated. 

As part of its hydrogen strategy presented in 2021, Luxembourg wishes to focus its efforts on the use of "green" hydrogen in the integration of sectors that are difficult to decarbonise by direct electrification, such as heavy industry.

At the beginning of 2026, the priorities for the manufacturing industry were reassessed. Carbon dioxide capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies are now prominent. Hydrogen appears in second place as a key lever in the decarbonization roadmap that the government is deploying in the country, ahead of energy efficiency measures and electrification.

This will require the deployment ofconnection infrastructures to connect the consumption sites to the future national hydrogen backbone (the HY4Link project) on which a consortium of Natran (FR), Creos Luxembourg Hydrogen (LU) and Fluxys Hydrogen is working (BE). The route of such a cross-border hydrogen transport infrastructure still needs to be optimised in order to minimise the overall cost.

Luxinnovation's role in the PACT-H2 project

"Our participation in this project is perfectly in line with this hydrogen strategy, in support of the energy transition and the reduction of dependence on fossil fuels, in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050," explains Anthony Auert, Mobility Manager - Business Relationship Management at Luxinnovation. "Through PACT-H2, we are supporting the development of a collaborative hydrogen economy in the Greater Region."

Cross-border cooperation to build a regional ecosystem as well as the networking and coordination of hydrogen-related activities in the Greater Region will play a key role here. In addition to policymakers, society as a whole will need to be informed about the positive effects of a hydrogen economy (e.g. for the labour market) in order to improve the acceptance of the corresponding projects. 

The PACT-H2 project aims to identify similarities and differences in the strategic and communication approaches of the regions involved and to develop solutions for targeted communication and coordinated strategies. 

"Luxinnovation will contribute to the project by providing in-depth knowledge of its customers and the local ecosystem. We will promote Luxembourg's innovation in this field of hydrogen and support the dissemination of the results of PACTH2," explains Auert. 

If you have ongoing projects or projects in the planning stages in the field of hydrogen and energy transition, Luxinnovation's teams are here to support you.