Finnish-led BalticSeaH2 awarded Hydrogen Valley of the Year
The European H2 Valley of the Year Award honours exceptional achievements in the development and implementation of Hydrogen Valleys. Criteria for the evaluation are breakthroughs in project implementation, outstanding efforts in covering the value chain, hydrogen volume produced/used in the valley, the stakeholders’ landscape and involvement, as well as the innovation level. The award was handed out at Hydrogen Research and Innovation Days.
BalticSeaH2 builds the first significant, cross-border hydrogen valley in Europe. The goal is to create an integrated hydrogen economy around the Baltic Sea to enable self-sufficiency of energy and minimise carbon emissions from different industries. Combining local areas into a broader valley supports creating a genuinely integrated, interregional hydrogen economy, which has not been done previously on this scale in Europe.
The main valley of the project is located between Finland and Estonia. The area between Finland and Estonia is an optimal location for a cross-border hydrogen market. The necessary infrastructure – natural gas pipelines, electricity grids, and active marine traffic – already exist in the Gulf of Finland. The project will support the reduction of the carbon emissions from existing marine traffic. In addition, Gasgrid Vetyverkot is already preparing hydrogen infrastructure: Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector and Nordic Hydrogen Route enable strong growth for hydrogen economy and hydrogen markets in the Baltic Sea region.
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Originally published on 27 Nov
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Payhawk, the leading spend management platform, announced the launch of “AI Office of the CFO,” a suite of specialised AI agents that solve finance’s biggest AI challenge: drastically increasing finance teams’ productivity while maintaining complete control over their operations.
With its platform already managing companies’ transactions, policies, workflows, and master data, Payhawk is uniquely positioned to build AI Agents that deliver practical value alongside the necessary controls. These new AI agents autonomously handle operational tasks with the same careful permissions as employees, enabling organisations to implement AI with confidence. While building its in-house agentic infrastructure, Payhawk has been leveraging early-access OpenAI models to refine its AI agent technology.
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Originally published on 2 Apr
AMPlify is an established platform designed to advance Finnish healthcare companies’ US market readiness and entry. Expanding upon the successful Nordic AMPlify and Gazelle programs, AMPlify is a complete ecosystem that brings Finnish companies and Mayo Clinic together.
With the US accounting for 40% of the global healthcare market and over 30% of new technologies emerging from collaborations with international partners, American health systems are evolving their innovation hubs into global co-development initiatives. AMPlify is leading this transition, and Mayo Clinic has picked Finland as a strategy focus area.
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Originally published on 2 Apr
Today the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in Estonia announced a major advancement in the project’s development. Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry, Erkki Keldo, has signed a decree confirming the route plan for the Pärnumaa section of Rail Baltica, enabling construction to begin in a region where progress had been halted since a Supreme Court ruling partially annulled the previous plan in 2020.
“Rail Baltica is a strategically important infrastructure project for Estonia and the entire Baltic region. It will create a modern and environmentally friendly transport connection with the European railway network, reduce road traffic congestion, and foster economic development while also serving as a backbone for military mobility on NATO’s eastern flank,” said Minister Keldo.
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Originally published on 2 Apr
In recent years, Lithuania has been increasingly establishing itself as a creator of space technologies, and one of the country’s brightest stars is Astrolight. With impressive innovation potential and global ambitions, the company has moved into developing laser communication technologies that could fundamentally change communication between Earth and space. These solutions are also opening new paths in the defense sector, where secure and uninterrupted communication is critically important.
Lithuania’s innovation ecosystem has long since crossed the boundaries of local projects, and support from the European Space Agency (ESA) is opening up more and more opportunities for Lithuanian companies to establish themselves in the international market. In total, Astrolight has already received around 1 million euros in funding from ESA.
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Originally published on 2 Apr
The most recent (spring 2025) “Payment Radar” published by Latvijas Banka suggests that the ratio between non-cash and cash payments in Latvia was 78% to 22% in February 2025. This represents the highest-ever share of non-cash payments.
Relative to the figures from February and August 2024, the share of non-cash payments has climbed by 1 percentage point (from 77% to 78%).
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Originally published on 31 Mar
H2 Cluster Finland, which has grown into a community of over 100 organisations, becomes an official association. The new association aims to make Finland the leading hydrogen economy in Europe while creating more than 100,000 new jobs. H2 Cluster Finland becomes an association. The cluster, which previously operated without a legal form, will be further strengthened in its ability to promote co-operation and support societal decision-making.
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Originally published on 31 Mar
Baltic Hub has reached another milestone in the implementation of the T3 project. For the first time, an ocean-going container ship – MSC Stacey – was handled at the new T3 quay. This impressive vessel, measuring 365.9 meters in length and with a capacity of 15,000 TEU, arrived in Gdansk on March 30 as part of an additional call, known as an “extra call.”
This event is of great importance both for Baltic Hub and the entire Pomeranian region. The commencement of test cargo handling at the T3 quay confirms that the project is progressing in the right direction and that full operational readiness is drawing closer. The new quay will enable the efficient handling of the world’s largest container ships, strengthening Gdansk’s position as a strategic port on the Baltic Sea.
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Originally published on 31 Mar
The CREWS project, which aims to strengthen disaster risk reduction through community engagement and cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, has officially launched with a kick-off meeting in Hamburg-Altona on 27–28 March 2025.
CREWS – or Enhancing Capacities in Disaster Risk Reduction by Facilitating Public-Civil Cooperation – seeks to empower local communities by bridging the gap between formal authorities and civil society actors in disaster management.
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Originally published on 28 Mar
The City of Tallinn has submitted its application to become a Zero Waste Candidate City under the Mission Zero Academy (MiZA) certification scheme, makingi it the first Estonian city to join the programme.
The Zero Waste Cities programme is an initiative of Zero Waste Europe aimed at helping cities transition to zero waste systems. Through certification, cities gain a strong framework for turning ambition into concrete action. The process will help Tallinn refine its strategy, better engage residents, and accelerate the shift towards waste prevention practices and material reuse and recycling.
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Originally published on 27 Mar
NIB and Eskilstuna Biogas AB have signed a seven-year loan to co-finance the construction of a new biogas production plant in a facility near Eskilstuna, Sweden. The EUR 15 million loan is supported by the European Union under the InvestEU programme and is eligible under NIB’s InvestEU Framework Operation Green Mobility and Transport.
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Originally published on 26 Mar