At Bled Strategic Forum, “Oryx Green Adriatic Blue” scores strong EU Commission support
Bled, Slovenia (2 September 2025) — In the midst of Europe’s mounting challenges—from fossil fuel dependence and critical raw material shortages to decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries and soaring green-energy costs—a promising initiative has gained momentum at the 20th Bled Strategic Forum, held 1–2 September 2025 under the banner “A Runaway World” During the Forum, ECUBES, the initiator behind the Oryx Green Adriatic Blue (OGAB) project—a vertically integrated project sourcing green hydrogen from MENA regions to supply up to 10 % of EU hydrogen demand—held a key meeting with EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela and his cabinet team. The group formally requested EU financial support via the Global Gateway instrument, aiming to accelerate the project’s rollout to help tackle Europe’s urgent energy security gaps. The Global Gateway strategy, championed by Commissioner Síkela earlier this year at forums such as Davos, serves as the EU’s flagship approach to sustainably invest abroad and support strategic infrastructure,…
NASCHA – North Adriatic Smart Communities Hydrogen Accelerator
North Adriatic Smart Communities Hydrogen Accelerator (NASCHA), led by Area Science Park, aims to accelerate transnational innovation in the Northern Adriatic hydrogen ecosystem, validating and demonstrating renewable hydrogen technologies in Croatia, Slovenia and Friuli-Venezia Giulia through pilot solutions, improving investor readiness through three Smart Communities of Practice and two pilot projects across hydrogen storage and retail, scalable across communities. NASCHA is based on the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV) and NACHIP initiatives, aimed at the value chains of transport and mobility, urban and agricultural areas. Similar to NACHIP, NASCHA received €7.9 million in funding from the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) facility under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). ECUBES is a be part of NASCHA as a consortium partner, actively involved in three testbeds, bringing forward practical demonstrations of hydrogen technologies and strengthening the regional hydrogen value chain.
Energy conference 2025 highlights cross-border innovation in Nova Gorica
On 27 May 2025, stakeholders from Slovenia and Italy gathered in Solkan for the Clean Energy Conference – an event dedicated to exploring clean energy cooperation, innovative solutions, and successful practices. The event took place at Restavracija Primula and featured a rich programme of high-level speakers and practical case studies. The conference opened with welcoming remarks from Samo Turel, Mayor of the Municipality of Nova Gorica, HE Giuseppe Cavagna, Italian Ambassador to Slovenia, and Dr Tomaž Štokelj, President of the Management Board at HSE. Their introductions highlighted the importance of collaboration and regional partnerships in achieving shared clean energy goals. An opening presentation by Giacomo Ricciotti, Director of ICE Ljubljana, offered insights into trade flows between Italy and Slovenia with a particular focus on the energy sector. The main programme showcased diverse examples of clean energy projects and community initiatives: Dr Jerneja Sedlar (HSE) presented the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV) and its role in building transnational hydrogen value…
ECUBES Joins Slovakia-Ukraine Green Hydrogen Initiative
EASTGATEH2V Hydrogen Valley Launched ECUBES became a consortium member of EASTGATEH2V, a newly launched cross-border Hydrogen Valley between Slovakia and Ukraine. ECUBES is also a co-initiator. Officially kicked off on 10 April 2025 in Košice, this initiative marks a historic milestone — the establishment of Slovakia’s first Hydrogen Valley, setting a precedent for green hydrogen deployment across Central and Eastern Europe. Coordinated by the Košice Self-Governing Region (KSK), EASTGATEH2V brings together 22 partners from seven European countries and has secured €9 million in funding through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership under the Horizon Europe programme. EASTGATEH2V aims to create a fully integrated hydrogen value chain, from renewable hydrogen production and storage to its end-use in mobility, industry, and public services. The hydrogen produced will power a range of applications — including regional hydrogen buses, a tourist boat, and drones — while supporting industrial users in and around Košice. The project also includes feasibility studies to repurpose natural gas infrastructure for hydrogen use and to explore cross-border scaling opportunities with Ukraine. ECUBES: Driving…
4th International Conference Hydrogen Ecosystem North Adriatic
ONE conference, TWO Countries, THREE Territorial Entities The fourth edition of the Conference was organised in November 2024 by ECUBES and communication partner META Circularity. At the fourth Conference the HE Investment Platform was launched aiming to support hydrogen-related solutions and technologies arising from the Ecosystem initiatives and attract talent and finance. An investment platform is to stimulate new investments in emerging technology initiatives, projects and start-ups. The vision of this international meeting is long-term as a focal point for the Hydrogen Ecosystem North Adriatic. It offers a space for inspiration, dialogue and collaboration with the aim to support the development of the Ecosystem and to connect available resources with motivation and talent, all based on a strong foresight of the role of renewable hydrogen for a sustainable future. A transgenerational dialogue was initiated thanks to the involvement of students and professors from several schools including: UWC Adriatic from Duino, University of Trieste, Department…
NACHIP – North Adriatic Clean Hydrogen Investment Platform
Hydrogen Ecosystem of the North Adriatic region comprising Croatia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Autonomous Region of Italy, and Slovenia, has been expanding thanks to a newly launched initiative North Adriatic Clean Hydrogen Investment Platform (NACHIP). A grant of 7.6 million euro has been awarded to the consortium of 12 partners from the three participating countries and ECUBES is one of the partners. The initiative represents an opportunity for up to 18 SMEs who will be selected to receive a grant of up to 60.000 euro each and join the two-tier NACHIP acceleration programme through which they will be integrated in the value chains evolving around five industrial pilot projects based on hydrogen-related technologies. Hydrogen use in Velenje (Slovenia) is a use case led by ECUBES and is organised as a “local hydrogen alliance”, comprising Municipality of Velenje, KSSENA, ETRA, ECUBES and JSI as key participants. It aims to present a comprehensive solution…
Transcontinental Hydrogen Valley Roundtable in Davos during WEF 24
Collaboration, education, innovation, De-risking large scale hydrogen projects In collaboration between Davos Innovation Center, ECUBES and Y3D.AI, an exclusive event was held involving representatives from the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley in Europe, as well as the Middle East and North Africa. The event highlighted the significant role of clean hydrogen in shaping a sustainable world. Acknowledged by the European Union as a crucial component in achieving climate neutrality, clean hydrogen not only plays a pivotal role in sustainable energy but is also a fundamental element in the promotion of global peace. With its exceptional capability for storing and delivering renewable energy, clean hydrogen stands as a cornerstone in reducing carbon footprints and fostering sustainable energy solutions. The event aimed at fostering a widespread green energy transition through cross-continental collaboration. The announcement of Project ORYX GREEN ADRIAIC BLUE, which focuses on transporting clean hydrogen from MENA to the North Adriatic region,…
H2STUDENT by ECUBES hosted by the Ministry of Education of the UAE at COP28
ECUBES PRESS RELEASE: Dubai, 12 December 2023 “The energy transition is doomed to fail to reach it objectives in time unless we engage with young people and get them to actively participate in transforming the whole ecosystem into a low-carbon economy in which renewable energy and hydrogen will play a key role.” This was the message Aleksander Gerbec, CEO of Slovenian hydrogen technology and clean energy infrastructure company ECUBES brought to COP28 in Dubai where, together with his team from Slovenia and UAE partners StudiYo Lab (https://www.studiyolab.com) and thanks to the support of the UAE’s Ministry of Education(https://www.moe.gov.ae/en) the International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA (https://www.irena.org), and the Slovene Enterprise Fund (https://www.podjetniskisklad.si/en/ ),he presented the “H2STUDENT by ECUBES” programme, a successful educational initiative that has already played a significant role in the development of the entire value chain of the hydrogen ecosystem in the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley,…
HSE and Clean Hydrogen Partnership Joint Undertaking – Signed contract on the co-funding of the NAHV project, involving EUR 25 million in EU grants. Press release
HSE, the lead partner in the NAHV project, on behalf of the entire consortium, including ECUBES, last week signed with the Clean Hydrogen Partnership Joint Undertaking, a contract on the co-funding of the NAHV project, involving EUR 25 million in grants. ECUBES press release regarding the NAHV project: With the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (NAHV) project, lead partner Holding Slovenske Elektrarne (HSE), ECUBES and the entire consortium of 38 partners and affiliates, drawn mostly from Slovenia, Croatia and the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia in Italy…
3rd International Conference Hydrogen Ecosystem North Adriatic 2023
Organised by: Clean Hydrogen Partnership (CHP) and ECUBES with the support of Hydrogen Europe and Hydrogen Europe Research Co-organised by: Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia (GZS), Northern Primorska Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Nova Gorica), Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Confindustria Udine and Confindustria Alto Adriatico 3rd International Conference Hydrogen Ecosystem North Adriatic 2023 Thanks to the participants! Trust, not just the essential ingredient in any relationship but an essential pre-requisite for a successful collaboration was the main theme of the 3rd International Conference Hydrogen Ecosystem North Adriatic, which took place on May 23, 2023 in Villa Vipolže, Slovenia. Building it, maintaining it and acting on it! Trust was demonstrated by the leaders of the three political institutions when they signed a letter of intent, paving the way to the development if the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley,…