How can politicians, officials and small business owners get the knowledge needed to make wise decisions about hydrogen and take advantage of new business opportunities? A new feasibility study led by Luleå University of Technology will find out.

The feasibility study Hydrogen Knowledge Development in the North is about building knowledge that makes a difference – both for climate-smart communities and for a more competitive business sector. The aim is to understand what needs exist and to test forms of education that can work in practice.

“Lack of knowledge risks slowing down development”

– Hydrogen is an area where the lack of knowledge risks slowing down development, both in municipalities and businesses. We are investigating more about which groups need knowledge as a priority, what they need to know, and how we can best reach them in the midst of a stressful everyday life with a thousand other important tasks. By testing different forms of training and gathering experiences from participants, we can lay the foundations for an implementation project that really hits the mark. The hope is that the long-term result will be two regions with particularly good knowledge of hydrogen as a basis for continued sustainable development, says Cecilia Wallmark, director of the hydrogen initiative CH2ESS at Luleå University of Technology.

Among other things, the feasibility study will:

• conduct needs assessments with municipalities, regions and small businesses
• test pilot training courses for politicians and civil servants
• conduct 100 individual dialogues with SMEs
• collect good examples from other regions and countries
• explore how digital learning can be used to reach more people

The target groups include municipal politicians, public sector officials and small and medium-sized enterprises. These groups are often faced with important decisions related to the energy transition – but do not always have the necessary knowledge about hydrogen and its possibilities.

Creating access to lifelong learning

An important focus is to create access to lifelong learning, where training can be digital, flexible and adapted to the everyday life of both small municipalities and companies.

The feasibility study runs between August 2025 and August 2026. It is led by Luleå University of Technology together with Region Västerbotten, Skellefteå Municipality, Boden Business Park and IUC Norr, with support from the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth and co-financing from Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten and the parties themselves.

Read more about the Center for Hydrogen Energy Systems Sweden (CH2ESS) here!