Inside Europe’s Big Bet on Hydrogen Partnerships

Fraunhofer, Elcogen, and Ballard lead a coordinated European drive to scale hydrogen innovation

10 Oct 2025

Europe’s hydrogen ambitions are shedding their pilot-project phase. Across the continent, research institutes, manufacturers, and transport providers are moving from experiments to full-scale production, signaling a new, coordinated era for clean energy.

Germany’s Fraunhofer institutes are at the forefront, expanding research partnerships to improve how hydrogen components are made. Through initiatives like the H2GO project, teams are refining production techniques and materials efficiency to help cut costs for fuel cells and electrolyzers. These are key steps toward mainstream commercial use.

In Estonia, Elcogen has taken a leap forward with the opening of a 360-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell plant, one of Europe’s largest. The facility will produce both fuel cell and electrolysis stacks, boosting regional supply for hydrogen generation and storage systems.

Meanwhile, Ballard Power Systems is keeping the transport sector moving. After rolling out hydrogen bus engines across Belgium, Germany, and the UK, the company is now focused on integrating those fleets and fine-tuning its next-generation modules, including the FCmove-SC.

“The partnerships now emerging in Europe show how the hydrogen sector is maturing from fragmented pilots to integrated value chains,” said Sofia Kramer, an analyst at CleanTech Europe. “It’s a move toward aligning research, production, and deployment at scale.”

EU funding through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership, the Innovation Fund, and Important Projects of Common European Interest has given the sector a firmer footing. These programs are helping to build hydrogen corridors and regional hubs that link industry, transport, and infrastructure.

Challenges remain. Production costs are still high, regulations differ across member states, and supply chains remain fragile. But the direction is clear: Europe’s hydrogen ecosystem is becoming more cohesive. The combined efforts of Fraunhofer, Elcogen, and Ballard are turning clean energy collaboration into industrial reality.