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10 Years of Green Energy Center Europe: Building the Bridge to a Climate-Neutral and Autonomous Energy System

Jul 17, 2026 | GEC, Research, Living Lab, Codex Partnership, Hydrogen Mobility

A Decade of Operational Learning Along the Brenner Hydrogen Corridor

On 16 June 2026, the Green Energy Center Europe celebrated its tenth anniversary by returning to the place where its story began. Exactly ten years after the first long-distance journey of a production hydrogen fuel cell vehicle from Bergen via Innsbruck to Bolzano, the route was travelled once again. The purpose, however, was no longer to demonstrate that hydrogen mobility was technically possible. Instead, the journey asked a much more important question: What has Europe learned during the past decade about transforming its energy system towards climate neutrality and autonomy?
The accompanying Krone TV documentary follows this journey and documents how a regional initiative evolved into an international partnership connecting industry, research institutions, start-ups and public stakeholders through the Green Energy Center Europe Codex Partnership.

At the Beginning Was Not a Vehicle

As explained in the documentary, the starting point was never a hydrogen vehicle itself. It was a long-term strategy. The Green Energy Center Europe was established as part of the Tyrol 2050 Energy Autonomous Strategy with the objective of supporting the transition towards climate-neutral and autonomous energy systems. Hydrogen mobility became one visible element of this broader transformation rather than an isolated technological objective.

From Demonstration to Operational Learning

During the past decade numerous implementation projects were initiated together with industrial and research partners. Among them were

  • the Hydrogen Highway along the Brenner Corridor,
  • Demo4Grid,
  • HyWest,
  • REINFORCE,
  • FLEXI,
  • TRIERES,
  • H2CoVE,
  • and further regional implementation initiatives.

Some projects reached implementation. Others were modified, postponed or discontinued. This was not considered a failure but an essential part of operational learning. Real transformation processes are characterised by adaptation rather than by linear implementation.

The Codex Partnership

One of the central messages of the documentary is that innovation does not emerge from individual technologies. Instead, it develops through long-term cooperation between

  • industry,
  • start-ups,
  • research organisations,
  • educational institutions,
  • and public stakeholders.

Within the Green Energy Center Europe these actors collaborate through the Codex Partnership as a long-term thinking and implementation framework that accompanies regional transformation processes over many years.

Hydrogen Mobility as Part of a Regional Energy System

The documentary follows the technological development from the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell through the Hyundai NEXO to today’s broader hydrogen ecosystem including buses, logistics, industrial applications and future heavy-duty transport. At the same time it demonstrates that successful hydrogen mobility depends on much more than vehicles. Production, storage, refuelling infrastructure, transport logistics, industrial demand and qualified people must evolve together.
This systemic perspective became visible through projects such as the MPREIS hydrogen production facility and the continuous cooperation between Hyundai, the Green Energy Center Europe and numerous regional partners.

Learning From Successes and Setbacks

The past decade also demonstrated that transformation is rarely linear. Some ambitious initiatives, including the Zillertal Railway hydrogen project, were discontinued or postponed. Meanwhile, hydrogen infrastructure developed at different speeds across Europe. While Austria experienced setbacks in hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, Northern Italy continued expanding its network in accordance with the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR). These developments underline that long-term transformation depends not only on technological readiness but equally on political decisions, investment continuity and regional cooperation.

Building the Bridge to the Green Future

After ten years, the most important result is not a single project. It is the establishment of a permanent Living Lab in which industry, research, education and public institutions jointly develop, validate and improve practical pathways towards climate-neutral and autonomous energy systems. The Green Energy Center Europe therefore represents not the end of a project but the continuation of a long-term transformation process whose next stage has already begun.

Krone TV Documentary

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