As part of the BalticSeaH2 (BSH2) project, Cybernetica is developing a digital marketplace for hydrogen (H2). The goal is to build a secure and transparent platform with a strong value proposition that fosters trust and supports the emergence of a competitive hydrogen market.
The platform will be created with the needs of the BSH2 main valley between Southern Finland and Estonia in mind. However, it will be designed to be scalable and replicable for wider regions.
In addition to the trading of hydrogen, the platform will feature a digital twin component – a simulation environment allowing users to model and forecast market conditions under various scenarios.
The challenges of developing a hydrogen marketplace
Although the hydrogen domain is expanding rapidly, it still continues to face many challenges and uncertainties. Particularly relevant for the development of the hydrogen marketplace, as shown in our analysis (see graph below), are the still-evolving EU regulatory landscape, the ongoing development of applications and offtakers, the lack of dedicated pipeline infrastructure, and the absence of mature trading mechanisms.
This raised critical questions from the very beginning of our work:
- How to define a clear scope for the marketplace at this stage?
- How does the maturing of the hydrogen market influence the platform’s required features?
- Are stakeholders ready to engage in trading, and if so, when?
- Most importantly, where should the analysis begin?
Fortunately, our development team has the right skills and experience to answer the questions and tackle the challenges mentioned above.
The BSH2 consortium brings together 40 partners from across the Baltic Sea region, ranging from hydrogen and Power-to-X producers to consumers, technology developers, and research facilities. This strong and diverse network gives us valuable knowledge and support, forming a solid base for our analysis.
In addition, Cybernetica has extensive experience in delivering secure, scalable IT systems, including software solutions in the energy sector (e.g., OneNet, Interrface and Sysflex), providing a strong technological backbone for our work. Combined with a motivated project team, several with backgrounds in the energy field, we are well positioned to take on the analysis and development of a hydrogen marketplace.
Top-down approach with motivation analysis
The appropriate approach to business analysis depends on the nature of the project and the AS-IS situation of the object under analysis, which in our case is the hydrogen marketplace.
Traditionally, as software developers, we would start by asking the stakeholders what is not working and what needs to be changed in today’s solution. This type of bottom-up approach, which builds on existing systems and business processes, was not suitable this time as the hydrogen market is still in its early maturity stages, with more open questions than established practices.
As such, for the BSH2 project, we adopted a top-down approach, starting from the big picture and gradually moving into details. Instead of immediately focusing on how the system should work and what it should entail, we first asked why a hydrogen marketplace should exist and what problems it should solve.
We deliberately chose to start with a clean slate, exploring the full range of potential features the marketplace could offer. And rather than emphasising the comparative analysis of reference markets and platforms, we prioritised understanding the business motivations of stakeholders while remaining open to all possibilities.
For the business motivation analysis, we used the popular ArchiMate 3.2 Specification, a modelling language for enterprise architecture. Instead of narrowing in on a single organisation, we targeted the broader hydrogen ecosystem, mapping out motivations and relationships across a diverse range of stakeholders.
This allowed us to identify the unique needs, drivers, goals, and concerns of the key players in the BSH2 main valley and its nearby regions, and to assess their implications for the marketplace. Our aim was not only to capture the broader context of the hydrogen domain, but also to define the scope of the marketplace in an emerging hydrogen market.
The resulting motivation model acted as an information system goal model, answering the questions to whom, why, and what.
Paving the way to a Proof of Concept
Between September 2024 and May 2025, we conducted 13 stakeholder motivation interviews, guided by ArchiMate motivation elements. The interviewees included both BSH2 project partners and external stakeholders, representing key players from the BSH2 main valley and surrounding regions. Participants ranged from hydrogen producers and consumers across sectors such as fertilizers, plastics, and transport to transmission system operators (TSO), utilities, product developers, and industry advocates.
Rather than following a rigid format, we encouraged interviewees to speak freely about the topics most relevant to them. Our conversations focused on their vision for the hydrogen economy, their motivations for engaging in the sector, their hopes and concerns, and how a hydrogen marketplace could serve their interests.
While participants’ motivations varied, whether focused on carbon neutrality, new business opportunities in the hydrogen economy, or technological leadership, all agreed that developing the hydrogen marketplace would benefit the BSR.
Alongside interviews, we also examined regulations, guidelines, and reference markets, using the methane market as our main benchmark and drawing on synergies with the electricity market. And although platforms like Get Baltic/EEX, Nord Pool, and Lhyfe Heroes offered useful insights, the primary focus remained on stakeholder motivations. This formed the basis for defining the platform’s scope, business use cases, and rules. These results then needed to be validated.
In May and June 2025, we organised 5 validation interviews with 6 stakeholders that had also participated in the initial interviews. In these interviews the scope and the main business use cases, involving the principal business processes for trading on the marketplace, were verified or modified according to the feedback.
The verified business use cases and rules allowed us to define and prioritise the functional requirements for the marketplace and select the most critical ones from a business perspective for inclusion in the Proof of Concept (PoC).
ArchiMate motivation model extraction, representing the drivers and concerns of the interviewees.
Hydrogen marketplace - Proof of Concept
The Proof of Concept (PoC) of the hydrogen marketplace platform provides a foundation for validating key assumptions and showcasing core marketplace functionalities. It captures the principal business processes of the marketplace through two of its main components – a trading portal and a public portal.
Trading portal gives platform operator tools to configure markets and oversee trading sessions, while traders can submit and manage their orders, with the system executing trades accordingly.
Public portal supports transparency through offering open access to aggregated trading data.
The developments that did not fit into the PoC will include additional features, such as:
- analytics tools and reports
- access to the hydrogen price index for regions using the marketplace
- the ability for traders to create small one-way auctions
- access to hydrogen purchase agreement (HPA) templates.
Since we adopted an iterative development approach at the start of the project, allowing the platform to evolve with each iteration based on stakeholder feedback, the list of future features implemented during the BSH2 project is subject to change.
The key principle of the marketplace is configurability to meet the needs of an evolving market. Although new features and functionalities will be developed progressively as stakeholder requirements change in the future, the marketplace has already been designed to accommodate varying levels of hydrogen market maturity through configurable markets and support for multiple trading algorithms.
Where are we now?
Software development of the PoC began earlier this year. In early 2026, we plan to verify the PoC through pilot testing with the appropriate target audience. We will use the testing results to address misalignments with real business needs, make relevant modifications to the existing software, and plan new features for the next iterations. Through this iterative development process, we aim to create a hydrogen marketplace that delivers strong value for all interested parties.
We thank all the hydrogen stakeholders who have contributed to the analysis so far and helped us reach this milestone. If you would like to learn more about Cybernetica’s involvement in the BSH2 project, please contact Triin Aadli (triin.aadli@cyber.ee).