Three intense days. Innovative ideas. Concrete solutions for the future of hydrogen. iMMC PhDs rise to the challenge... and win!

The Hydrogen HiveMinds Ideathon is an event organized within the BE-HyFE initiative, with the support of the FPS Economy and in collaboration with KreativDistrikt. Over three intensive days, it brought together 29 researchers from diverse disciplines, working in teams to accelerate the development of concrete solutions for the future of hydrogen in Belgium.

The main objective was to transform innovative ideas into realistic business cases, focusing on three key themes: hydrogen as an energy carrier, as an industrial feedstock, and as a lever to strengthen European competitiveness.

The event was organized into three complementary phases:

• Day 1 – Exploration & structuring: participants formed teams and used a forward-thinking framework to identify challenges, analyze trends and policies, explore future scenarios, and define strategic interventions.
• Day 2 – Business case development: ideas were transformed into concrete and structured projects, taking into account feasibility, impact, scalability, and market acceptance. Teams also received pitching coaching.
• Day 3 – Final pitching: teams presented their projects in a “Dragon’s Den”-style session, where a jury selected the most convincing proposals.
   

Throughout the ideathon, mentors from industry and the public sector, notably from Fluxys, Sirris, Solhyd, FPS Economy and Agfa played a key role by challenging assumptions, providing real-world insights, and strengthening the robustness of each project.

After three intense days, PhD researchers from UCLouvain successfully took part in the ideathon, designing and presenting innovative and concrete projects within the proposed themes.

Both UCLouvain teams won their respective categories:

• Hydrogen as Industrial Feedstock – H2Power project
  Developed by Raphaël Defroyennes, Maxime Marée, Marie-Julie Charlier (UCLouvain), and Mohamed Krid (CRM Group), this project focuses on valorizing industrial waste streams by converting brine into ammonia through electrochemical processes.
  Key idea: transforming a waste product into a valuable resource for fertilizer production.
• Hydrogen as Energy Carrier – BeeHydro project
  Led by Thomas Mylemans, Xavier Pinon, and Mattéo Polonioli (UCLouvain), this project proposes integrating water electrolyzers into biomass and waste-to-energy power plants for better grid integration.
  Key idea: reducing emissions and increasing energy flexibility by creating hybrid, more sustainable systems.

All teams members were awarded a €400 travel voucher with Connections for an international trip, along with the symbolic sponsorship of a beehive.