Review: This year, the annual 3H2 Forum took place in Basel under the motto “Hydrogen – just a future prospect or increasingly a reality? An assessment from the worlds of business and politics.” Organized by the Handelskammer beider Basel, dem H2-HUB Schweiz, den Industriellen Werken Basel und der Klimaplattform der Wirtschaft | Region Basel. The forum was well attended, with nearly 300 participants, and provided a platform for the exchange of innovative ideas, groundbreaking technologies, and forward-looking projects related to hydrogen in the border triangle. The core message: A hydrogen ramp-up can only be achieved together. In 2026, the forum will take place on October 14 in Konstanz — mark your calendars now!!

At the Old Power Station in Basel, the program began with welcoming remarks followed by interesting presentations on green hydrogen (Jürg Grossen, National Council member, President of GLP Switzerland) and the Hydrogen Valley Südbaden project (Dieter Sommerhalter, itg). These were followed by a panel discussion on the tri-national hydrogen strategy with political representatives from Switzerland (Dr. Markus Bareit, specialist and project manager for the hydrogen dossier at the Swiss Federal Office of Energy; Jürg Grossen, National Council member, President of GLP Switzerland), Germany (Dominik Bernauer, Head of Energy Economics, Ministry of the Environment of Baden-Württemberg) and France (Christelle Lehry, Vice President of the Environment Commission, Grand Est Region), which addressed fundamental issues of cross-border cooperation. The subsequent panel discussion on investing in the future, using aviation as an example, with representatives from Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, SPIN, and Globalance Bank provided exciting insights into financing and specific areas of application for hydrogen.

After the break, Heathcliff Demaie (Head of Hydrogen Projects at the University of Lorraine) gave a presentation that took a scientific look at hydrogen. The panel discussion “H2 ecosystem in both Basel cantons: Who needs hydrogen, when, and under what conditions?” focused on Switzerland with representatives from IWB, Delica AG, GETEC Switzerland, Linde Gas Switzerland AG, and Swiss Rhine Ports. The subsequent energy supplier talk with badenova, NaTran, RWE, and Gasverbund Mittelland AG showed that connections to neighboring countries and cross-border cooperation are crucial.

Das gemeinsame Mittagessen bot anschließend Gelegenheit für Austausch und Netzwerken. Es wurde angeregt diskutiert und neue Zusammenarbeit angestoßen.

We would like to thank the main organizers from Switzerland (Handelskammer beider Basel, H2-Hub Schweiz, IWB Industrielle Werke Basel und der Klimaplattform der Wirtschaft Region Basel) for the excellent planning and to all participants for their keen interest!

The baton was ceremoniously handed over to Germany, and we are looking forward to organizing this event next year on October 14, 2026, in Konstanz. Save the date and sign up for the newsletter if you don’t want to miss any information about it! All information can be found on the event’s website.