ABOUT
The Hydrogen HiveMinds Ideathon brings together Belgium’s leading academic researchers to co-create bold, future-shaping ideas for the country’s hydrogen ecosystem.
Organised by the BE-HyFE project and its partners, the event welcomes Belgian academics (PhD level and above) working across the full breadth of hydrogen-related topics, including derivatives like ammonia, methanol, etc.
WHAT?
A 3-day ideathon where multidisciplinary academic teams (4 people) co-create bold, future-focused hydrogen pathways for Belgium.
Working across scientific, technical, economic, and policy angles, participants explore innovative directions that can support a resilient and competitive Belgian hydrogen ecosystem.
WHY?
Belgium's hydrogen ambitions sit at the crossroads of energy security, industrial transition and EU cooperation. But without clear priorities and coordinated action, progress risks stalling.
To maintain leadership, Belgium needs joined-up thinking across markets, infrastructure, policy and innovation. The ideathon brings researchers together to outline realistic pathways for the country's hydrogen future.
HOW?
Teams are guided through an expert-led warm-up phase that equips them with the tools, insights, and system context needed to start strong.
During the 3-day event, they combine creative ideation with structured analysis and targeted mentorship to produce ambitious yet feasible case studies that contribute to Belgium’s long-term hydrogen roadmap.
WHAT IS THE OBJECTIVE OF HYDROGEN HIVEMINDS?
To co-create credible, future-oriented pathways for Belgium’s hydrogen ecosystem and translate them into concrete, Belgium-anchored cases that demonstrate how these pathways could realistically unfold, providing insights that are relevant for research, industry, and policy decision-making.
WHO CAN JOIN?
Hydrogen Hiveminds welcomes academics working at a Belgian knowledge institute on any aspect of the hydrogen-related value chain - from production and storage to system integration, applications and policy. You are equally welcome if you work on derivatives like ammonia, methanol, ...
Researchers from both technological and non-tech backgrounds are invited and no coding or prototyping experience is required.
We encourage participants at all career stages, from PhD researchers to professors.
Note: participants must work at or be affiliated with a Belgian academic institution. The organisers may request proof of affiliation.
Why participate?
Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of leading researchers and industry mentors
Apply your expertise to real-world challenges and help shape Belgium's hydrogen ecosystem
Gain exposure to industry practices, policy perspectives and market insights
Receive hands-on experience in ideation, design thinking and presenting innovative solutions to decision makers
Expand your professional network and discover potential collaborations or future projects
Compete for cool prizes! For each category our specialist jury will select one winning team. Check out the prize pool
GUIDED THROUGHOUT THE JOURNEY
Important: you don't need to be an expert in every aspect of the hydrogen ecosystem and beyond to participate!
Hydrogen HiveMinds provides continuous support through expert mentors, a shared knowledge repository and explanatory webinars that build a common understanding across participants.
During the event, teams will work within a clear framework and will be guided through proven design thinking methods that help structure ideas, explore interactions and translate future pathways into concrete, credible cases.
OUR IDEATHON CATEGORIES
Participants to the event will form teams to develop future pathway solutions within one of the four proposed categories. Future pathways are plausible, coherent routes from today's hydrogen landscape to ambitious outcomes for Belgium in 2030-2050, including solutions which involve derivatives like ammonia, methanol, etc. Each pathway combines technical building blocks, business models, policy changes and social/market actions.
Within these pathways, teams will also work out one innovative and concrete case study for the Belgian context, which could be a solution (or 'path towards') within one of the four categories.
The pathways and case studies should be anchored in Belgian assets (infrastructure, industries, ports, human capital), identify key barriers and the most impactful interventions to overcome them, include a clear timeline with milestones/risks/KPIs, show interaction between categories (where possible) and be creative but also actionable or feasible.
PRIZE POOL
Over 10.000 € as prizes or surprises!
As a team you will be tackling one of the four categories above, designing your specific pathway and case study. For each of those categories the jury will choose one winning team, so there will be four winning teams in total.
The winning teams will receive a prize, both on a team level ànd on a personal level. Each winning team gets:
TEAM PRIZE: ADOPT-A-BEEHIVE
Each winning team will adopt a queen beehive for one year in collaboration with Beesapi Brussels, an urban initiative installing beehives on the rooftops of Brussels.
By doing so, your team actively supports biodiversity and a healthier climate. The adoption contributes to stronger bee populations, tree planting initiatives, and includes bee-related goodies such as candy and a honey harvest at the end of the year.
INDIVIDUAL PRIZE: TRAVEL VOUCHER (PER WINNING TEAM MEMBER)
But...there's more! Next to some really cool gadgets and surprises throughout the event, we also want to acknowledge the time, engagement and effort of ALL participants!
HIGH-END THANK-YOU GIFT FOR EACH PARTICIPANT
All participants — including those not part of a winning team — will receive a premium Hydrogen HiveMinds thank-you gift at the end of the event.
This is not standard event merchandise, but a high-quality, well-known consumer product, chosen to properly acknowledge your contribution.
Practical, durable and genuinely enjoyable to use, it’s our way of recognizing the time, effort and creativity you bring to Hydrogen HiveMinds.
What is it? Well, join the event and wait and see...
AGENDA & VENUE
Please note that Hydrogen HiveMinds is a full 3-day event. Registering for the event as a participant means you commit to be present during 18-20 March 2026 live in the venue. All participants will receive a certificate of attendance after the event.
High-level agenda
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Registrations open: 19 January 2026
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Warm-up phase (2 webinars): in the period between 2-13 March 2026
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Registrations close: 6 March 2026
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Wrap-up team formation: 6- 10 March 2026
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Live Ideathon: 18-20 March 2026
Please note that your first team deliverable will be due before the starting date of the event, so some preliminary work will be needed.
Location
Hydrogen HiveMinds will take place at Silversquare Bailli, Avenue Louise 231, 1050 Brussels. The venue can be easily reached via public transport and there are a number of affordable accommodations near the venue.
FAQs
PARTNERS
Hydrogen HiveMinds is organized by the BE-HyFE project, an Energy Transition Fund project funded by the Belgian federal FPS Economy. The entire event is made possible through ETF financing.
BE-HyFE is supported by Kreativdistrikt, a specialised hackathon and innovation agency, which contributes to the design and organisation of the Ideathon.
This event is also supported organization-wise through the TiNTHyN project, the Walloon network of high-level scientific hydrogen expertise, and is embedded in the Enlight project ETHyC, Education and Training for HYdrogen
eCosystems.
Bridging academia and industry, Hydrogen HiveMinds is also proud to welcome the following companies on board of the event. They bring their expertise, know-how and industrial mindset to the academic teams, guiding them along towards real-world solutions.
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