Closure of the European project Zero Hytechpark in which the Bizkaia Science and Technology Park took part

• Under the framework of the LIFE+ programme, the aim of the project was to obtain more sustainable Technology Parks using renewable energy sources and hydrogen technologies.
• The closing ceremony brought together more than a hundred experts interested in renewable energies and hydrogen.

The Zero Hytechpark project, included in the European LIFE+ programme, has come to an end after four years of work and a budget of 1.3 million Euros, half of which was funded by the European Union.

The closing ceremony, held on 11 June at the Walqa Technology Park (Huesca) and organised by the Foundation for the development of new hydrogen technologies in Aragon, brought together more than one hundred specialists and experts interested in hydrogen technologies and renewable energies. The meeting, chaired by the Aragon Minister of Industry and Innovation, was attended by numerous authorities and international experts in this subject, giving participants the opportunity to find out at first hand about the advances in research and the application of hydrogen technologies, and their situation in an international sphere.

During the closing ceremony, and as a climax to all the work during the project, the progress and prototypes developed under the project framework were presented. These initiatives now face the challenges of the market. After the meeting, participants visited the workshops and laboratories of the Aragon Hydrogen Factory which, moreover, has just celebrated its tenth anniversary.

To coincide with the event, the last follow-up meeting of the project was held. Four partners were at the meeting, Bizkaia Science and Technology Park, Walqa Technology Park, Andalucía Technology Park and the Aragon Hydrogen Foundation, together with an external follow-up agent from the European Commission.

The Zero Hytechpark project, as part of the LIFE+ programme, set itself the objective of making Technology Parks more sustainable, through the optimum management of energy, using systems based on hydrogen technologies and renewable energies. LIFE+ is the only European Union financial tool exclusively dedicated to the environment for the period 2007-2013, with the intention of contributing to the application, update and development of the community legislation and policy as regards the environment and its integration with other policies.

Bizkaia Science and Technology Park has been involved in the Zero Hytechpark project since it was set up in 2010. The Park has worked hard to disseminate the project, focussing mainly on the Technology Interpretation Centre, BTEK, which has a permanent interactive module used to explain how hydrogen technologies work. A hydrogen and renewable energies workshop has also been set up.