30.11.2021

Stargate meets with the Prime Minister of Estonia

  • Stargate Hydrogen met with Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, to discuss plans for establishing a large-scale electrolyzer manufacturing facility in Estonia.
  • The electrolyzer manufacturing facility is part of Stargate’s contribution to the Hydrogen IPCEI, a list of large-scale projects are aimed at jumpstarting the hydrogen economy in the EU.

The Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas, welcomed the representatives of Stargate and another cleantech company Skeleton at the Prime Minister’s Office in Stenbock House on 26th November.

At the meeting, the discussions revolved around the Hydrogen IPCEI: Important Projects of Common European Interest. The IPCEI framework is a way for the European Union to support projects in strategically important areas to ensure that the EU remains a frontrunner in the context of growing global competition. To qualify for the IPCEI, a project needs to be highly innovative and result in the establishment of a first-of-its-kind manufacturing facility or large-scale deployment of novel technology.

A project proposal submitted by Stargate Hydrogen was selected from a total of 21 Estonian projects and 435 projects from other EU Member States to be part of the ‘first wave’ of IPCEI projects. The pre-selection of projects was conducted by Enterprise Estonia and the Ministry of Economics and Communications, while the assignment of the project to the first IPCEI wave was done by the European Commission.

The project, if funded, would help to drastically increase the efficiency and bring down the cost of alkaline electrolysis technology. The project also envisions a first-of-its-kind electrolyzer factory employing Industry 4.0 tools to be constructed in Estonia.

Stargate was represented at the meeting by the CTO, Rainer Küngas, and by Rene Tammist, the former Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology. Taavi Madiberk, the CEO and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies, also attended the meeting.

Rainer Küngas, the CTO of Stargate Hydrogen, commented: „The IPCEI framework is a unique opportunity to establish Estonia as an important player on the green hydrogen market. The political decisions of today determine whether Estonia ends up as a net importer or a net exporter of hydrogen technology.“