INESC TEC travels to UT Austin to share knowledge on green hydrogen

INESC TEC travels to UT Austin to share knowledge on green hydrogen

A world powered by hydrogen? The road ahead has some challenges, but also major opportunities – especially those emerging from the collaboration between Europe and the United States. INESC TEC took part in Hydrogen Day 2025 at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), an event that brought together industry, academia and international experts to help build a more sustainable energy future.

21st October 2025

From Porto to Texas, Filipe Joel Soares, researcher at INESC TEC, carried with him decades of experience in the search for decarbonisation solutions, focusing on hydrogen. As a speaker on the “Hydrogen Discussion: Panel 3”, he highlighted the main opportunities and challenges of green hydrogen in Europe, highlighting the key role played by Portugal and INESC TEC in several strategic projects. “Green hydrogen represents a strategic opportunity for Europe, but it also requires us to rethink how energy systems are planned and operated. Projects like GreenH2Atlantic - an industrial-scale renewable hydrogen production project in Sines integrating electrolysers with local industry and port operations; MAGPIE, a European pilot transforming ports into clean energy hubs by integrating green hydrogen and electrification into logistics chains; and H2Med, a cross-border infrastructure connecting Portugal, Spain and France to transport Iberian green hydrogen to Europe’s main consumption centres, are just some examples of our ongoing work in this field,” he said.

In his talk, he also pointed out the opportunities to improve the flexibility of hydrogen-based energy systems, particularly through participation in spot and reserve markets, which could help reduce the Levelised Cost of Hydrogen[1]. However, he also warned of the need to address the technical and regulatory challenges associated with injecting green hydrogen into natural gas networks.

This two-day event features expert panels, networking sessions, and a scientific poster competition, reinforcing Texas’s position as a global leader in the energy transition. Filipe Joel Soares served as a jury member for the “Hydrogen Day Poster Competition”, evaluating student and researcher projects across various hydrogen applications, and recognising innovative work in hydrogen production, storage and use.

The visit also included a technical tour of the Hydrogen ProtoHub, a full-scale demonstration facility at UT Austin that integrates multiple technologies for hydrogen production, storage and use, operating with renewable sources and including hydrogen-fuelled vehicle refuelling.

The event was organised by UT Austin, with key involvement from Professor Brian Korgel, who is also one of the Directors of the Clean Energy area of the UT Austin Portugal Programme - a new thematic area introduced in the programme’s fourth phase. This initiative provided another opportunity to strengthen research and development connections between Portugal and the United States, in line with the international partnership established between the two countries – which, in UT Austin’s case, has been managed by INESC TEC since 2018 (in Portugal).

“These events are essential to promote collaboration between Europe and the United States and to accelerate the path towards a global green hydrogen economy,” concluded Filipe Soares.

[1] The average cost of producing hydrogen per unit of energy over the entire lifetime of a facility, including investment, operation and maintenance.

The researcher mentioned in this news piece is associated with INESC TEC.