New Consortium Accelerates Hydrogen Adoption Through Advanced Material Innovations
- A new consortium, MatH2, has been established to dismantle material-technical barriers to hydrogen adoption.
- The widespread adoption of hydrogen is currently hindered by challenges related to storage, transport, and infrastructure, resulting from hydrogen’s low density and its effects on metals.
- The MatH2 consortium aims to address the industry’s urgent need to validate safe, hydrogen-compatible materials by developing new low-cost materials and components that can withstand hydrogen and other chemicals critical to the hydrogen economy, as well as the enabling technologies for this.
- Established as part of the Wärtsilä-led WISE program, the MatH2 consortium is uniquely positioned to unlock Finland’s hydrogen potential. The positive annual economic impact of the hydrogen economy is estimated to reach up to 34 billion euros by 2035.
Technology company Wärtsilä is part of a new, multidisciplinary consortium aiming to solve one of the energy transition’s greatest challenges: the safe storage and transport of clean hydrogen. The Business Finland co-innovation project is led by VTT.
The size of the global hydrogen market in 2023i was 97 million tonnes (Mt), and it continues to grow. However, the adoption of hydrogen is significantly limited by a lack of materials that are compatible with hydrogen and enable its safe and cost-effective use and scaling.
The goal of the new MatH2 consortium is to create a comprehensive, industry-driven, and innovative ecosystem that provides essential hydrogen-compatible materials and technologies. These technologies are needed to solve reliability challenges of critical materials and to scale the hydrogen transition.
The MatH2 consortium leverages Finland’s unique readiness to support the hydrogen economy, as there is an abundance of affordable, emission-free electricity and biogenic carbon dioxide available for producing hydrogen derivatives. Furthermore, Finland’s electricity grid infrastructure is strong.
The results achieved by the consortium can accelerate Finland’s journey toward becoming a leading country in the hydrogen market. According to estimates, the annual positive impact of the Finnish hydrogen market on the gross domestic product will be up to 34 billion euros by 2035. Technology development and infrastructure construction are estimated to create over 60,000 jobs, which also contributes to the European Union’s goal of producing 20 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually by 2030ii. By solving material reliability challenges, MatH2 can improve the availability of sustainable fuel, energy, and sustainable industrial products, reduce the risks and costs of hydrogen infrastructure, and promote the stability, sustainability, and resilience of future energy systems.
The new MatH2 consortium has been established under WISE. WISE (Wide and Intelligent Sustainable Energy) is a collaborative program partially funded by Business Finland, with the ambitious goal of developing zero-emission balancing power and thereby accelerating efforts toward carbon neutrality. Wärtsilä, which leads the WISE program, is driving the transition toward a future where electricity is generated with 100% renewable energy. The company is already a leading innovator in the hydrogen economy. The MatH2 consortium includes a total of 10 industrial players and research institutions covering the entire hydrogen value chain from material suppliers, component manufacturers, and technology providers to industries acting as end-users of the products. The consortium includes industry leaders EOS, Neste, Nordic Tank, Teknos, SSAB, Bumax, SP Stainless, and two research partners, VTT and the University of Oulu.