Jyväskylä contributing to building the European hydrogen economy

Jyväskylä is strongly involved in the hydrogen economy. During the spring and early summer, there has been plenty of hydrogen-related activity in the city, as key stakeholders gathered to discuss practical steps for advancing the hydrogen economy.

At the end of May, the City of Jyväskylä hosted the Hydrogen Building Cities event. The discussions focused on how Finnish cities could accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy, especially in terms of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. Immediately afterwards, the Cefmof foundation organised a two-day Hydrogen Builders event, where participants explored the concrete opportunities hydrogen can bring.

European cooperation accelerates innovation

International momentum was strengthened in summer 2026 when the City of Jyväskylä officially joined the Hydrogen Europe network. This opens direct access to the core of European hydrogen development.

At the European level, research and innovation in hydrogen technologies are supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership (officially the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking). This unique public–private partnership consists of three key members:

• The European Commission

• Hydrogen Europe (representing the hydrogen industry)

• Hydrogen Europe Research (representing the research community)

Through this collaboration, funding and research are aligned with real industrial needs.

Technology is ready – but what about scalability?

The City of Jyväskylä visited the world’s largest hydrogen industry event, held annually in Rotterdam. A clear message emerged from discussions: the technology itself is already available and has reached the highest readiness level (TRL 9).

The biggest challenges now relate to scaling up to industrial levels, supply chains, and investor confidence. Major, centralised future visions are giving way to more local, modular, and immediately deployable ecosystems. For example, local biomass potential offers strong opportunities for modular hydrogen production.

Although core technologies are technically mature, scaling them up to industrial levels still operates at TRL 6–8. Many solutions are being tested for the first time in limited environments (FOAK – First of a Kind).
There was also a notable Finnish success, as Valmet and Ren-Gas won the System Innovator of the Year award.

Investment decisions slowed by uncertainty

Despite many projects reaching the final investment decision (FID) stage, decision-making remains slow. In addition to regulation, investors and financiers are concerned about financing risks. There is still limited long-term operational experience with industrial-scale equipment, which increases financial uncertainty. Verified plants with proven quality control are still lacking.

Additional risks include the availability of critical materials and potential degradation in equipment performance over time. Insufficient maintenance infrastructure and slow availability of spare parts may extend payback periods. There is also uncertainty around actual production capacity and quality assurance.
Furthermore, the EU’s RED III directive and RFNBO criteria (renewable fuels of non-biological origin) set strict operational requirements.

Transport infrastructure is taking shape

Despite these challenges, progress continues and infrastructure is being built along Europe’s main transport corridors. For heavy transport and machinery, ambitious targets have been set:

• Refuelling time: under 20 minutes

• Price: under €10 per kg

Major hubs, such as Rotterdam Europort in April 2027, indicate the direction of future development.
Jyväskylä’s active role and its membership in the Hydrogen Europe network ensure that Central Finland has a strong foothold and an active role in building the European hydrogen economy.

More information:

Hanna Rinta-Erkkilä
Principal Specialist, hydrogen 
p. +358 40 664 5996 
hanna.rinta-erkkila@jyvaskyla.fi 

This article is part of the ecosystem work carried out by the City of Jyväskylä’s Business Development Services. The ecosystem work is implemented with public funding under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment’s Ecosystem Agreement for the years 2021–2027, in cooperation with local higher education institutions and other regional development organisations.

The project is funded by the Regional Council of Central Finland.