H2Excellence

H2Excellence (Centers of Vocational Excellence for Hydrogen Technologies and Fuel Cells) is a project funded through the European Union’s Erasmus+ Program. Its objective is to strengthen the skills and competencies required for green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, or hydropower, as well as fuel cell technologies. The project supports the transition towards a sustainable and low-carbon energy system.

The project is building a European network of centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVE), bringing together vocational education providers, higher education institutions, research organizations, companies, and public stakeholders to meet the rapidly growing skills needs of the hydrogen economy.

The consortium includes 24 organizations from eight Erasmus+ countries, together with one partner organization from outside the EU, located in Canada.

A Centre of Vocational Excellence for the Hydrogen Economy in Vaasa

Merinova participates in the project and represents Vaasa and Finland together with:

• Vamia (vocational education and training)
• Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK)

VAMK coordinates the entire project.

The Vaasa Centre of Vocational Excellence supports the development of green hydrogen value chains by investing in new educational solutions and responding to companies’ skills and competence needs. The Vaasa region’s strong concentration of energy technology expertise provides an excellent operating environment for these activities.

Future Skills Through Education and Innovation

The H2Excellence project develops international training programs, digital learning environments, and lifelong learning solutions for students, teachers, and professionals.

The objective is to ensure that Europe has a sufficiently skilled workforce to support the growth of the hydrogen economy and achieve its clean energy goals.

Driving the Green Transition

Through international collaboration, H2Excellence strengthens regional innovation ecosystems, promotes knowledge exchange, and creates new opportunities for companies, educational organizations, and experts to participate in the development of the hydrogen economy.

The project contributes to Europe’s green transition goals and helps build a sustainable, competitive, and energy-independent future.

Merinova Helps Build Hydrogen Ecosystems and Future Growth Opportunities

Within the H2Excellence project, Merinova contributes to identifying competence and training needs related to the hydrogen economy while strengthening cooperation between education providers, research organizations, and businesses.

Merinova is responsible for coordinating the project’s Industrial Advisory Group, which brings together companies and other stakeholders to provide insights into future skills and competence requirements within the sector.

In addition, Merinova promotes collaboration between European hydrogen regions, centers of Vocational Excellence, and innovation ecosystems, while supporting competence development to meet the needs of growing industrial investments.

Merinova also contributes to the development of a long-term strategy and action plan for strengthening hydrogen skills ecosystems in cooperation with European and Canadian partners. This work further supports Vaasa’s position as part of the international hydrogen economy collaboration network.

H2Excellence Brings Together Education, Research, and Industry Organizations from Across Europe and Canada

In addition to Merinova and the Finnish partners, the project includes:

• ENEA (Italy)
• LNEG – National Laboratory for Energy and Geology (Portugal)
• CESUR – Centro Superior de Formación Europa Sur (Spain)
• University of Perugia (Italy)
• Pôle Véhicule du Futur (France)
• Mondragon University (Spain)
• Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre (Portugal)
• Energy Cluster of Valencia Region (Spain)
• ECOLE – Enti Confindustriali Lombardi per l’Education (Italy)
• FAST – Federation of Scientific and Technical Associations (Italy)
• ISQ – Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (Portugal)
• CIEMAT – Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (Spain)
• ATENA – Distretto Alta Tecnologia Energia Ambiente (Italy)
• EnergyIN – Competitiveness and Technology Cluster for Energy (Portugal)
• EVBB – European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training (Germany)
• RIGP – Regional Pomeranian Chamber of Commerce / Cluster of Hydrogen Technologies (Poland)
• Polytechnique Montréal (Canada)

Together, the partners form a broad international network that advances hydrogen economy skills, education, innovation, and cooperation with industry both across Europe and beyond.

Further Information

Project Website: www.h2excellence.eu