UFI Hydrogen opens European MEA plant in Trentino inside a €100 million hydrogen cluster
UFI Hydrogen, part of Italy's UFI Filters Group, inaugurated a 14,000 m² industrial and technology hub at Serravalle di Ala on 25 September, its European centre for membrane electrode assemblies. The plan foresees around €50 million of investment by 2029 and about 100 jobs. Together with FBK's hydrogen facilities in Rovereto, Trentino is assembling a 40,000 m² cluster worth some €100 million.
UFI Hydrogen S.p.A., the hydrogen technology company of Italy's UFI Filters Group, inaugurated its new industrial and technology hub at Serravalle di Ala, in the province of Trento, on 25 September. The site is the company's European industrial centre for membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), the catalysed membrane at the core of PEM electrolysers and fuel cells.
The plant covers 14,000 square metres, 6,000 of them enclosed, and combines research and development, testing, prototyping, industrialisation, production and a technology showroom on a single site, Adnkronos reported. It has been operational since the first quarter of 2025. The development plan calls for investment of around €50 million by 2029 and a progressive increase in headcount towards about 100 jobs in the province, according to Soldionline.
From research project to dedicated company
The company was incorporated in 2023, at the end of a research and development track started in 2017 within the UFI Innovation Center. Giorgio Girondi, president of UFI Hydrogen and of the UFI Filters Group, said the group chose “not simply to create a new division, but a dedicated company, with its own skills, management and investments”, adding that it intends to build the business “from Italy, with European technology and global ambition”.
Girondi pointed to applications already moving out of the laboratory: Fincantieri has launched Viking Libra, a cruise ship fitted with a hydrogen-fuelled fuel-cell system, aviation programmes for hydrogen propulsion are under way, and fuel-cell trucks are progressively entering trials and service on European roads.
The MEA and the technology platform
The MEA is the catalysed membrane where the electrochemical reaction takes place. In PEM electrolysers it splits water molecules to produce hydrogen using renewable electricity; in fuel cells it converts hydrogen back into electric power. UFI Hydrogen's technology platform covers four lines:
- hydrogen production through electrolysis;
- power generation through fuel cells;
- electrochemical conversion of CO₂ for the synthesis of e-fuels;
- electrochemical compression of hydrogen for storage and transport.
The ability to develop and industrialise proprietary MEA and CCM places the company in a highly specialised segment mastered by a limited number of operators internationally, Adnkronos noted. UFI Hydrogen is the only Italian company selected for IPCEI Hy2Move, the Important Project of Common European Interest dedicated to hydrogen mobility; within it, the R2RMEA project has been authorised for funding of up to about €22 million to develop and industrialise innovative fuel-cell MEAs through roll-to-roll production processes. Target markets include hard-to-abate industry, heavy transport and energy storage, as well as data centres and artificial intelligence, humanoid robotics and drones, where fuel cells and electrochemical systems can complement grid electrification.
A 40,000 m² cluster in Trentino
A few kilometres away, work started in 2026 in the Rovereto industrial area on the new Trentino Hydrogen Hub, promoted by the Autonomous Province of Trento and developed with Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) and Trentino Sviluppo. The new facilities of FBK's Sustainable Energy Centre will occupy about 25,000 square metres and are being built through European programmes and provincial resources for a total investment of around €50 million, with testing capacity for hydrogen and batteries up to megawatt scale.
Italpress reported that the two sites together form a territorial ecosystem of roughly 40,000 square metres, supported by two distinct investment programmes worth about €100 million in total and covering the chain from basic and applied research through prototyping, industrial validation, scale-up and production. The strategic partnership between UFI Hydrogen and FBK's Sustainable Energy Centre concerns research on next-generation MEAs.
Government backing
Adolfo Urso, Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, said the opening “does not represent only the opening of a new industrial site, but demonstrates the ability of the Italian hydrogen chain to transform investment and innovation into concrete production”, and called on Europe to continue on the path of technological neutrality. Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister of the Environment and Energy Security, said the government has prepared a national strategy and is advancing projects such as the Southern Hydrogen Corridor and the Italian backbone, alongside an enabling bill on hydrogen covering sector rules, the regulatory framework and the infrastructure needed for production and consumption.
Tommaso Foti, Minister for European Affairs, the PNRR and Cohesion Policies, said the investment generates qualified employment and helps bring highly specialised professionals back to Italy. Maurizio Fugatti, president of the Autonomous Province of Trento, said the project shows the territory's capacity to attract investment and skills. Claudio Durigon, undersecretary at the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, tied the €50 million plan and the 100 jobs to opportunities for young workers.