In the era of energy transition, innovation is no longer born exclusively in laboratories or corporate meeting rooms. Increasingly, the most effective and sustainable solutions emerge from collaborative processes involving a plurality of actors, each with specific skills, perspectives and needs. The HyEfRe – Hydrogen integration for efficient renewable energy systems project, co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Central Europe programme, is an emblematic example of how participatory processes can be the engine of innovation in green technologies.
The context: the challenge of sustainable hydrogen ecosystems
Green hydrogen is one of the keys to the decarbonisation of the European economy. However, the creation of sustainable hydrogen ecosystems is not just a technological issue: it requires the complex orchestration of different stakeholders, from public administration to private companies, from environmental associations to civil society.
The HyEfRe project, with a duration of 30 months (June 2024 – November 2026) and led by the Landshut University of Applied Sciences, has embraced this complexity by developing a systemic approach that focuses on stakeholder collaboration to foster an environment conducive to investments in renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies.
The participatory approach: beyond traditional consultancy
Traditionally, technological innovation projects follow a linear path: research, development, implementation. The HyEfRe project, on the other hand, adopted a systems thinking approach, recognising that the success of hydrogen ecosystems depends on the quality of the relationships and interactions between the different actors involved.
The project’s analysis identified six main categories of closely interconnected stakeholders. Administrations and Authorities are crucial for defining policies, financing mechanisms and regulatory frameworks, while Economic Actors – which include industries, energy companies and technology suppliers – are vital for investment and infrastructure development. Associations and NGOs prove to be essential to ensure environmental sustainability, social equity and public awareness, in constant dialogue with political actors who influence decisions and long-term commitments. Civil Society acts as a guarantor of public acceptance and alignment with the needs of the community, supported by the Press and Media in the crucial role of communication and dissemination of information.
Mosaic: the software for collaborative co-design
To turn this theoretical understanding into action, the Resolve team used Mosaic, the proprietary software developed to facilitate collaborative design processes. Mosaic is not simply a consultation tool, but an integrated platform that allows you to facilitate dialogue through structured methodologies, co-design solutions that take into account different perspectives and monitor the evolution of participatory processes over time.
Implementation in national contexts
As part of the HyEfRe project, Mosaic will be used to orchestrate participatory processes in four national contexts: Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Each context has specific characteristics in terms of hydrogen market maturity, national regulatory framework, availability of renewable resources and culture of collaboration between the public and private sectors.
The national co-design workshops will make it possible to contextualize the information collected in the analysis phase, identify opportunities and barriers specific to each territory, co-create concrete and applicable actions to establish effective ecosystems for the sustainable implementation of hydrogen and define customized regional transformation strategies.
The results: innovation through collaboration
The participatory approach adopted in the HyEfRe project aims to generate results that go beyond the sum of individual skills. On the front of innovation in technological solutions, the combination of different perspectives leads to the identification of more robust solutions that can be adapted to different territorial contexts. Innovation in business models emerges from the interaction between economic actors, institutions and civil society, favoring the development of approaches that take into account not only economic sustainability, but also social and environmental sustainability.
From the point of view of innovation in public policies, the active involvement of local administrations makes it possible to identify more effective regulatory and policy tools to support the development of hydrogen ecosystems. Finally, social innovation is perhaps the most significant result: participatory processes foster the creation of greater awareness and social acceptance of hydrogen technologies, which is crucial for the success of any innovation.
Lessons learned: towards a new paradigm of innovation
The experience of the HyEfRe project shows that participatory processes are not just a “nice to have” in innovation projects, but represent a fundamental strategic element. It is clear that diversity breeds innovation: the inclusion of stakeholders with different backgrounds, skills and interests creates a fertile environment for the emergence of innovative solutions that no single actor could have conceived independently.
Collaboration requires structure and cannot be left to improvisation: effective participatory processes require structured methodologies, appropriate tools and professional facilitation. However, the time invested in collaboration pays off handsomely: even if participatory processes require a higher initial investment in terms of time and resources, they generate more robust, shared and sustainable solutions in the long run.
Finally, it becomes clear that innovation is systemic: in the context of complex challenges such as the energy transition, innovation cannot be confined to the technological aspect alone, but must embrace economic, social, political and cultural dimensions.
The future: scaling up the participatory approach
The success of the HyEfRe project in using participatory processes to foster innovation in sustainable hydrogen ecosystems paves the way for a wider application of this approach. The European Union, through programs such as Horizon Europe and Interreg, is increasingly recognizing the value of co-creation and the active participation of citizens and stakeholders in innovation processes.
The model developed in HyEfRe can be adapted and replicated in other sectors and contexts, helping to create a more inclusive, sustainable and effective European innovation ecosystem.
Conclusions
The case of the HyEfRe project clearly demonstrates how participatory processes can be a powerful catalyst for innovation. When different stakeholders are actively involved in the co-design and co-decision of complex solutions, the result is not only a better quality of the proposed solutions, but also a higher probability of successful implementation.
At a time when the challenges we face – from the energy transition to climate change – require systemic and collaborative responses, the participatory approach is no longer an option, but a necessity. The HyEfRe project, through the use of tools such as Mosaic and the support of European funding, has shown that this need can be transformed into a concrete opportunity for more inclusive and sustainable innovation.
The HyEfRe – Hydrogen integration for efficient renewable energy systems project is co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Central Europe programme. For more information: www.interreg-central.eu/projects/hyefre/
