Hydrogen Twin Cities Award for Aberdeen and Kobe, Japan

ABERDEEN City Council’s work in the hydrogen sector has been given a Twin Cities award in the sibling cities category by the US Department of Energy for a collaboration with Kobe, Japan.

H2 Twin Cities is an initiative which showcases cities and communities around the world which deploy clean hydrogen solutions with the aim of promoting international partnership working by sharing best practices and lessons learned.

Aberdeen and Kobe signed a new memorandum of understanding in 2022, expanding on the agreement between the two in 2019, and expressing the commitment that both parties have for working collaboratively on hydrogen projects for the benefit of residents and businesses in both cities.

As part of the agreement, seven key work packages around hydrogen are planned for delivery over the next five years focusing on public engagement, ports, heat, jobs, emissions reduction, supply chain platform, and management and reporting.

Ian Yuill Co-Leader of Aberdeen City Council said: “We have a tremendous working relationship with our colleagues in Kobe and are delighted with this recognition by the US Department of Energy.

“Aberdeen has set out ambitious targets across our Net Zero Aberdeen routemap and Aberdeen Adapts framework, both of which launched today, and as global leaders meet again this week at COP27 to discuss the action required to tackle climate change it is vital that we collaborate with our partners to meet these targets.”

Mayor of Kobe Kizō Hisamoto said: “We are honoured that a joint proposal of the cities of Aberdeen and Kobe have been selected for the H2 Twin Cities Initiative.

“International collaboration is very important to achieve carbon neutrality, and Aberdeen and Kobe have been working together in the energy field by signing the MoU. 

“Through the H2 Twin Cities activities, we hope that the two cities will further strengthen their ties and contribute to building a hydrogen-based society on a global scale.”