This year, the landmark event for green innovation and sustainability in the region – Green Transition Forum 5.0 in Sofia buzzed not just about wind, solar, or hydro—but about unlocking renewables’ full potential through hydrogen. While the “Scaling Up Renewable Energy” panel dove deep into grid interconnectivity, balancing development with nature preservation, regulatory stimuli for renewables, two themes kept coming back to hydrogen: storage and strategic integration.
Hydrogen as the Missing Link in RES Integration
Currently, Bulgaria has enormous potential and growth of renewable energy production. However, scattered renewables suffer from grid bottlenecks. Outlining the key projects required to overcome them, Angelin Tsachev, Board Director of the Electricity System Operator cut straight to energy corridors and hydrogen’s role:
“Hydrogen is a fuel and a storage system. ESO is a partner of the Bulgarian Hydrogen Association, and we are actively working on integrating hydrogen in Bulgaria.”
By expanding grid interconnectivity, building new capacity and infrastructure, and smart management, green hydrogen can quickly become economically viable in Bulgaria. The faster we establish mechanisms to stimulate renewable production and storage locally, the sooner we’ll reduce energy loss across our networks. But hydrogen is not just another storage solution—it’s a flexible fuel that can smooth peaks, feed industry, and power heavy transport.
Photo by BGH2A
Learning from Croatia’s H₂ Push
The fact of the matter is that hydrogen in slowly but surely finding its place into the market of an ever greener and more sustainable Europe. While in the western part of the continent, this transition is ever more tangible, there are many positive examples closer to Bulgaria. Bozidar Dedus, Co-Founder of the Croatian Hydrogen Association, pointed how out Croatia leapfrogged from negligible hydrogen interest to massive projects, facilitated by focused policy decisions, industrial interest, and public (national and European) funds. The €45 million Rijeka project marries 10 MW of electrolyzers with 15 MW of wind and solar, while €6 million funds roll out six H₂ refueling stations. Mr. Dedus urged Bulgaria to seize EU financing—Resilience and Recovery, Innovation, Modernization, Cohesion funds—and build value chains for storage and transport.
He underscored the climate and economic gains:
“There are many opportunities to start a hydrogen economy. I would very much like to see Bulgaria do that. Hydrogen will open one million jobs across Europe [by 2030].”
The Bigger Picture: Communities and Conservation
The hydrogen and RES synergy cannot function without another vital component – societal acceptance and community buy-in. In regions where seven out of ten or more energy components are manufactured abroad, the social license to operate hinges on tangible local benefits—land-tax revenues, profit-sharing with municipalities, and new service-sector jobs in rural areas. Andreas Chollet from WDP Еurope GmbH underscored that
“Companies must commit a percentage of profits to the municipal and local budget”
if renewables and hydrogen implementation is to gain genuine grassroots support. By weaving community contributions and job creation into policy and projects, Bulgaria—and the wider CEE region—can turn conservation skeptics into champions of clean energy.
Without a conservation-centered approach, even the greenest ambitions can backfire. Under the revised EU nature directives, member states must designate specific areas for renewables, yet rigid permitting and inter-institutional silos still block progress. What’s the solution, according to Adam Harmat from WWF? Prioritize degraded and de-urbanized zones—which could meet 150 % of our 2050 neutrality targets—while co-locating multiple RES projects on shared grid connection points to minimize habitat disruption.
Photo by BGH2A
The Bottom Line
With the EU pushing towards net-zero emissions by 2050, hydrogen’s potential as both an energy storage medium and clean fuel has brought it squarely onto the podium of the Green Transition forum and on Bulgaria’s agenda. Without hydrogen and the right infrastructure, Europe’s net-zero ambitions will stall. Currently in Bulgaria, hydrogen is just a buzzword but slowly and surely, it’s establishing itself across Europe as the backbone of a resilient, integrated energy network.
