NASCHA involves five regions from three countries: Croatia (LDR), Slovenia (MDR and LDR), and Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia – FVG, MDR). The partnership across regions is diverse, involving research entities, universities, large companies, SMEs, local authorities, innovation and development agencies, a certification entity, and an investors association. Cooperation is based on integrating the complementary Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) of Croatia, Slovenia, and FVG, ensuring project outcomes feed directly into refining future regional strategies. An interregional working table involving the three S3 authorities will facilitate sharing insights and continuous monitoring. The project delivers specific benefits to Less Developed Regions by creating an interregional hydrogen (H2) value chain. It establishes Smart Communities of Practice for the transfer of innovative H2 solutions across community members. This bottom-up approach provides critical inputs to identify S3 gaps for future funding, thereby strengthening regional innovation capacity.

There is prior collaboration among most of the partners. The current project builds on the foundations of two relevant ongoing projects: North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (funded by the Clean H2 Partnership) and NACHIP (funded by I3). Both focus on the same territorial area, mutually reinforcing the goal of establishing a transnational H2 ecosystem.

The project develops a mix of innovation types, including product (new hydrogen storage and retail distribution systems), process (validating H2 use cases in irrigation and urban transport), and service/business model innovation through its replicable acceleration framework and the creation of Smart Communities of Practice.

The anticipated Technology Readiness Level (TRL) progression for the five pilots is from TRL 6 to TRL 8, focusing on the final demonstration and validation of mature technologies in operational environments.

The project aligns strongly with EU priorities, centrally supporting the Green Transition by focusing entirely on renewable hydrogen (H2) technologies in three strategic value chains. It also contributes to the Digital Transition and Smart Manufacturing by developing a Joint sizing and operation scheduling tool for investment derisking and integrating advanced features like machine learning models and IoT-enabled valves into new H2 storage products. Support for replication and scaling is provided through the creation of an investable portfolio of solutions, a NASCHA Interactive Replicability Package Catalogue and Toolkit, and Factsheets for replication purposes, while promoting H2 uptake across the EU via standardization and transnational technology transfer. The project addresses critical market and industry needs by advancing storage and transmission technologies to boost H2 availability and market competitiveness 13, and by funding 20 SMEs through cascade grants to fill value chain gaps.

The NASCHA I3 project is built around five demonstration cases (pilots, TRL 6+) and one Feasibility Study, all contributing to an overall investable portfolio of H2 solutions. The sub-projects target the Transportation & Mobility, Urban Areas, and Sustainable Irrigation value chains. The project includes:

• 3 Smart Communities of Practice (SCPs) (Demonstration):

1. Celje, Slovenia: Urban Mobility, validating a H2 production/refueling system for municipal transport.
2. Ajdovščina, Slovenia: Sustainable Irrigation, implementing an H2-powered system. This location also hosts a Feasibility Study for H2 in Industry.
3. Cres Island, Croatia: Sustainable Transport/Energy Systems, establishing H2 storage and refilling on an island.

• Cross-cutting Pilots (Investment/Product Development):

1. Patria Composite H2 storage: Developing a specialized composite H2 storage product.
2. CTS H2 HydroHub: Implementing a scalable, new H2 retail refilling and distribution system.

The partnership's diverse composition is crucial, with local authorities serving as end-users and implementation sites for three real-world hydrogen demonstration cases across the regions. Simultaneously, Large Companies drive the core innovation by developing new, scalable H2 storage and refilling technologies, while Research Entities provide technical expertise to derisk investments, and Innovation Agencies manage the funding of 20 SMEs through open calls to accelerate market entry.

The planned budget specifies a maximum grant of €60,000 for each supported SME. The project plans to support 20 SMEs (including startups) in total through the FSTP scheme.

The SMEs' core role is to provide components and services to enable demonstration, validation and future uptake of innovations within NASCHA value chains and to develop new business models for the use of green H2. This cascade funding will directly address value chain gaps identified by the consortium. Market uptake will be promoted as these SME projects must produce a business and investment plan, directly contributing to the overall market scaling and uptake of the NASCHA demonstration cases.

As the project is in its initial phase, no final products have been developed yet. However, the project is designed to deliver several high-TRL products and services with high certainty:

1. New Products: A new H2 storage product (likely a composite cylinder) and a new H2 retail refilling technology will be developed through cross-cutting pilots.

2. Validated Systems: Three integrated, industrially scalable solutions will be delivered by the Smart Communities of Practice:

• An Urban Mobility H2 refueling system (Celje).
• A Smart Irrigation H2-powered system (Ajdovščina).
• A Sustainable Transport/Energy model for island areas (Cres).

3. Service/Tool: A Joint Sizing and Operation Scheduling Tool will be developed to derisk future H2 investments and support the creation of a final Investable Portfolio.