Europe’s first renewable energy valley wins prize
The EU-funded REFORMERS(opens in new window) project was recently bestowed the 2025 World Hydrogen Award for its clean hydrogen initiative. Presented at the World Hydrogen 2025 Summit & Exhibition held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, the award recognises the REFORMERS consortium’s innovative work in establishing Europe’s first renewable energy valley in Dutch municipalities Alkmaar and Heiloo. REFORMERS was launched in 2023 to speed up the deployment of clean hydrogen technologies in Europe and help build a resilient, decentralised and sustainable hydrogen ecosystem. To achieve this goal, it is developing a new model for local, circular hydrogen production and use, with the renewable energy valley in Alkmaar and Heiloo as its flagship. Renewable energy valleys are decentralised systems that employ renewable energy sources, storage technologies and intelligent management algorithms to achieve energy autonomy. Through its flagship valley, the project is providing a blueprint for creating self-sufficient energy valleys throughout Europe, in this way playing a part in diversifying the EU’s energy supply and reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. Spanning 4 km², the REFORMERS flagship valley in Alkmaar and Heiloo hosts over 300 business facilities and 3 000 households, all of which are connected to a shared energy grid. It demonstrates how green hydrogen can be integrated into regional energy systems, powering local communities, supporting energy independence and furthering climate neutrality goals. It also serves as a blueprint for six replication valleys in Belgium, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and Poland.
The technologies driving success
Two breakthrough technologies were deployed in the flagship valley. The first is HYNOCA®, a carbon-negative hydrogen production process developed by French company Haffner Energy, which converts residual biomass into hydrogen through patented biomass thermolysis technology. HYNOCA® is already commercially available in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany). The second technology contributing to the flagship’s success is Zinc Intermediate Step Electrolysis, developed by REFORMERS partner STOFF2 (Germany). The technology enables 24/7 green hydrogen generation from intermittent renewables such as solar and wind power, with the renewable energy stored as solid zinc. This ensures a continuous hydrogen supply, even when solar or wind power is unavailable. Together, the two technologies ensure flexible, low-carbon and on-demand hydrogen supply to local users, as well as industrial sites and hydrogen refuelling stations operated by Dutch project partner NXT Mobility. “REFORMERS represent the essence of European collaboration for a clean energy future,” remarks Joep Sanderink of flagship valley coordinator New Energy Coalition (the Netherlands) in a recent press release(opens in new window). “We are proud to coordinate this project and are deeply impressed by the technologies it brings together. STOFF2’s electrolyser and Hynoca’s biomass process are both highly flexible and sustainable—two core requirements for future energy systems. This award recognizes not only technological innovation, but also the strength of European cross-border cooperation.” According to the press release, by the end of 2026, the REFORMERS (Regional Ecosystems FOR Multiple-Energy Resilient Systems) system will be able to supply mobility-grade green hydrogen while substantially reducing CO₂ emissions, demonstrating a scalable model for regional energy autonomy. The project ends in 2028. For more information, please see: REFORMERS project website(opens in new window)
