Hydrogen Today is attending the 2023 edition of this forum, organised by the Monaco Hydrogen Alliance. The conference is being held in a smaller format, but with top-of-the-range speakers and a focus on maritime mobility.
After the (successful) European Hydrogen Week in Brussels, pretty much the same hydrogen industry figures are gathered in Monaco. But the atmosphere is not quite the same. The setting is the sumptuous Hôtel Hermitage in Monaco, near the Casino. There is no exhibition (apart from a drone from Heven, on which we will linger over later) and a (dummy) station from HRS which has been set up at the back of the hotel. The format is that of a high-level conference, with a very international leaning.
This is evidenced by the presence of Roland Kaeppner, who is in charge of hydrogen at the pharaonic Neom project in Saudi Arabia; Kim Seo Young, CEO of the Korean company Hylium Industries; Richard Kiplagat, Kenyan and chairman of the Africa Hydrogen Partnership; Takuya Nitsuma, head of the European branch of the Japanese group Eneos. The panels will bring together countries from the Mediterranean region and further afield.
H2 boats: one of the key themes of the Monaco Hydrogen Forum
On a spot like Monaco, there was bound to be talk of hydrogen-powered boats. It was discussed on the first day (November 27) by Jérémie Lagarrigue, CEO of Eodev, as well as Phil Sharp, founder and CTO of Genevos (whose Oceanslab project we mentioned in a previous article). The forum also welcomed Sue Putallaz, head of the Swiss company Mobyfly, which is developing a flying boat using foils. Incidentally, a similar technology is being used by Artemis Technologies, a UK start-up that was pitching as part of the forum’s awards.
There was also talk of land mobility with Stephan Herbst from Toyota Motor Europe (with a debate on fuel cells versus hydrogen engines), motor racing (the Extreme H championship and the endurance work of Forze Racing) and air transport with a pitch from Destinus.
Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Logan King
