Hydrogen in Real Estate - Data Centers & Waste Heat - Adamo Screnci - Hydrogen Leader Podcast

In this Episode of The Hydrogen Leader Podcast, Adamo Screnci discusses his new role at IDEC Group, where he leads IDEC Italy and the group’s energy strategy, linking energy systems with real estate and building operations. With a background in electrochemistry, business training (including INSEAD), and experience across hydrogen initiatives and organizations like Hydrogen Europe and DII, Screnci describes his leadership style as listening-first, pragmatic, and focused on measurable, market-driven transition. He explains hydrogen’s role as an energy “vector,” not a primary source, and highlights how falling renewable electricity costs have made hydrogen attractive for storage, transport, fuels, and chemicals. He sees strong potential in integrating energy solutions into buildings—such as solar PV, storage, EV charging, and possibly hydrogen—especially in logistics hubs, industrial clusters, ports, and data centers. Screnci cautions against hydrogen hype, arguing that projects must be application- and region-specific, economically viable, and built around clear customer demand rather than speculation. He emphasizes the importance of regulation, stable offtake agreements, and affordable electricity, pointing to examples like green steel, SAF, and large-scale projects in the Middle East and Europe. He concludes by calling for clearer communication, smarter market mechanisms, and stronger collaboration to accelerate the energy transition. Chapters: 00:00 Welcome Adamo Screnci 01:08 New Role at IDEC Group 07:08 Leadership Philosophy 10:09 Transition, Not Revolution 12:25 Networks Over Hierarchies 13:34 Solar’s Cost Curve 17:37 Hydrogen as an Energy Vector 22:27 IDEC’s End-to-End Model 25:44 Hydrogen Use Cases in Real Estate & Logistics 29:05 Data Centers 31:19 State of the Hydrogen Economy 38:23 The Hydrogen Backbone 55:34 Why Hydrogen Projects Struggle to Get Financed 59:22 Flagship Deals That Moved the Market 01:05:40 Making Complex Projects Bankable 01:08:34 Wrap-Up Topics discussed in this Episode: Hydrogen energy transition,Green hydrogen projects,Hydrogen market development,Industrial decarbonization strategies,Renewable energy storage solutions,Hydrogen as energy vector,Green hydrogen for steel production,Sustainable aviation fuel hydrogen,Hydrogen projects Europe,EU hydrogen regulation,Hydrogen offtake agreements,Energy systems integration,Hydrogen for logistics hubs,Hydrogen in industrial clusters,Hydrogen for data centers,Hydrogen in real estate