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Enel, Eni to build joint 20 MW pilot green hydrogen project

Italian power utility Enel and energy provider Eni have announced a plan to deploy 20 MW of hydrogen generation capacity between 2022 and 2023.

In a joint press release, the two companies specified that two 10 MW electrolyzers will be built at unspecified Eni refineries in Italy, “where green hydrogen appears to be the best decarbonization option.” Eni has recently completed a 31 MW solar plant at one of its chemical industry sites in Sardinia and is planning to install 220 MW of PV power plants in the country, as well as a 14 MW floating PV project.

“We are interested in exploring, with Eni, the promising green hydrogen sector,” Enel CEO, Francesco Starace stated. “Together, we identified a couple of sites where we can start with the first projects. The overall system we have in mind will be working as a closed loop, whereby the electrolyzer fed by renewable energy and the refinery will be at the same location, therefore avoiding the construction of complex transport infrastructure to move hydrogen around.”

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Enel added it is currently working on other hydrogen projects in Spain, Chile and the United States and that it is targeting to instal 2 GW of hydrogen capacity by 2030. Eni is currently planning other, unspecified hydrogen projects in the U.K. and Italy. Its CEO, Claudio Descalzi, said that blue hydrogen solutions, relying on gas and C02 carbon capture, are also being considered. “Our goal is to accelerate the reduction of our carbon footprint by implementing the best applicable low carbon solution, either green or blue, to reduce our direct emissions as well as switching to bio products to supply our clients,” he affirmed.

Italy unveiled, last month, a new hydrogen strategy that aims for 20% hydrogen penetration into final energy demand by 2050.

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Source: pv magazine