From testing to deployment: COPE accelerates electrolysis innovation

COPE connects companies, knowledge institutions and test facilities within a coherent ecosystem. By improving the integration of test infrastructure, enabling knowledge sharing and harmonising test methodologies, COPE reduces the gap between development and market deployment. Innovations can be validated more rapidly, consistently and at scale. In doing so, COPE accelerates the transition from testing to deployment.

COPE is an initiative within the broader Dutch hydrogen ecosystem, driven by GroenvermogenNL and TNO. Both organisations share the ambition to strengthen the Dutch hydrogen ecosystem and accelerate the commercialisation of electrolysis technologies.

They recognise that fragmented testing approaches and diverging standards are slowing down scale-up across the hydrogen value chain. To address this, they jointly focus on:

• developing a coherent national and international testing landscape;
• enabling shared learning between industry and knowledge institutions;
• reducing risks associated with scale-up investments;
• positioning the Netherlands as an innovation hub within the European hydrogen value chain.

This collaboration ensures that testing and learning are not isolated efforts, but part of a coordinated international approach.

What is COPE?

COPE (Community of Practice Electrolysis) is an action-oriented community in which suppliers, OEMs, test facilities, research institutions, certification bodies and end users collaborate. Its mission is to align innovation efforts across the value chain and enable collective learning at scale.

COPE acts as a:

• connecting link between national and European initiatives;
• driver of harmonised testing methods and equipment;
• gateway to a network of test facilities in the Netherlands;
• facilitator of pre-competitive, collaborative learning within the sector.

COPE brings fragmented initiatives together into one coherent programme, where testing is conducted strategically and in close collaboration with industry.

COPE forms the driving force behind an open innovation centre for electrolysis. Its approach is built on three core pillars.

Pillar 1: Harmonised testing, benchmarking and certification

The first pillar focuses on reducing fragmentation in existing testing practices. COPE develops harmonised testing protocols and works towards internationally applicable certification pathways.

The objective is to generate reliable, transferable and comparable test results, regardless of location or technology. This is achieved by:

• mapping existing protocols;
• identifying gaps;
• developing standardised methodologies.

This creates a foundation for international benchmarking and collaboration, while improving comparability between technologies.

Pillar 2: Distributed Test Center

The Distributed Test Center (DTC) connects existing Dutch test facilities into one coordinated network, offering companies a single entry point for testing support.

Within this network, organisations can test at the appropriate scale, location and application. By linking laboratory testing to mid-scale facilities, scaling rules are developed that are essential for technology validation.

The DTC:

• prevents duplication of investments;
• increases the efficiency of existing infrastructure;
• strengthens national testing capacity;
• supports companies in controlled and evidence-based scale-up.

This enables a more structured transition from TRL development to industrial implementation.

Pillar 3: Electrolyser Intelligence Platform

The third pillar focuses on advanced data analysis and AI-driven modelling. Many insights into electrolyser performance and lifetime cannot be captured through traditional testing methods alone.

At the same time, operational data represents a strategic asset for companies. The Electrolyser Intelligence Platform is therefore designed according to privacy-preserving principles. Companies do not share raw data and retain full control over their datasets.

Using techniques such as federated learning and secure computation, anonymised and aggregated patterns are derived. This creates a collective intelligence layer that:

• provides insight into performance and degradation;
• identifies opportunities for improvement;
• accelerates innovation without compromising confidentiality.

This approach enables ecosystem-wide learning while respecting ownership and competitive positioning of individual partners.

From valley of death to accelerated scale-up

By combining testing infrastructure, harmonisation and data intelligence, COPE helps bridge the so-called valley of death: the phase in which innovations stall between research and market introduction.

Within the ecosystem, hydrogen technologies are tested under realistic conditions across different TRL levels. This reduces investment risks, accelerates scale-up and increases the likelihood that promising innovations reach the market.

The Netherlands as an innovation hub for green hydrogen

With COPE, the Netherlands is building a robust and accessible testing infrastructure for green hydrogen. Researchers, companies and public authorities collaborate to develop reliable and scalable technologies.

By coordinating nationally and connecting internationally, the Netherlands positions itself as an attractive and leading innovation hub within the European hydrogen value chain. COPE turns testing into a strategic instrument for acceleration, rather than a final step.

For companies and researchers

COPE offers companies and researchers access to a range of test facilities that best match their testing needs, based on scale, use case and equipment type. The focus is on water electrolysis and low-temperature electrolysis.

Becoming a COPE member

Subject to selection, organisations can become a member of COPE and gain access to:

• test facilities across all scale levels;
• testing protocols and equipment;
• insights and knowledge