(ANSA) - NOVA GORICA, NOV 12 - The ambition of the Fvg Region, "which I share with Slovenia and Croatia, is to further strengthen economic, scientific and educational cooperation, with ever closer political and institutional coordination. There is now an awareness - and also a common vision - that this path represents a great opportunity for our territories, thanks also to the strategic geopolitical position we share in the Upper Adriatic area." This was stated by the regional councillor for Labor, Research,University Alessia Rosolen at the 5th conference "From innovation sparks to the starts of the hydrogen economy," organized by Ecubes and Meta Circularity in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, to take stock of the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley (Nahv), funded by Horizon Europe in 2023. Rosolen opened the two-day talks at the Perla with Tina Sersen, secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of Environment Climate and Energy, and Vjekoslav Jukic, representative of the Croatian Ministry of Economy and the NAHV Joint Working Group, the governance body of the 'transnational initiative. Rosolen called for "a strengthening of the dialogue between the political stakeholders, as well as between local authorities, businesses and research institutions," stressing the importance of also completing the establishment of the joint nonprofit association, the Aisbl - International Nonprofit Association, under Belgian law. "Founded by the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley partners, the association will also be open to other players in the ecosystemof the Upper Adriatic," Rosolen hoped. Rosolen recalled that in November 2021, the first edition of the conference had been held in Nova Gorica: "On that occasion, Slovenia, Croatia and the Fvg Region expressed their support" for creating Europe's first transnational Hydrogen Valley: today, after more thanThree years of joint work the project represents a concrete and shared result." A joint letter of cooperation was signed in March 2022 to accelerate, in their respective territories, the introduction of 'hydrogen in production chains and mobilize public and private resources. New initiatives were added, supported by various European programs, with a total value of 41.5million in public contributions and with an estimated investment potential of about €3 billion in the long run. Fvg has advanced the climate neutrality goal to 2045. To date, interventions financed with regional funds total about 50 million euros, to which are added resources from national and European funds, amounting to about 330 million. (ANSA).