Groundworks have begun on the initial phase of a European Hydrogen Bank (EHB)-supported project in Portugal, which could eventually scale to 1.2GW of green hydrogen production.
The MaduqoaPower2X project’s first phase aims to produce an annual 51,000 tonnes of hydrogen for 300,000 tonnes of ammonia and is expected for completion in June 2027.
While a commercial operations date has not been revealed, the consortium – which features Madoquoa Renewables, Power2X, and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Energy Transition Fund – has costed the first phase at €1.3bn ($1.45bn).
Under the first EHB auction in April 2024, Maduquoa was awarded subsidies of €0.48/kg ($0.53) of green hydrogen across a ten-year period commencing once online.
Land preparations follow lengthy delays attributed to environmental permitting procedures and securing finances. While it was originally planned to go online in 2025, Portugal’s Environment Agency only conditionally greenlit construction in December that year.
The planned €2.8bn ($3.12bn) second phase would see it scale up to 150,000 tonnes of hydrogen and 1 million tonnes of ammonia per year.
Hydrogen Europe’s Clean Hydrogen Monitor 2025 identified the project as one of just five projects selected in the first European Hydrogen Bank auction still being developed under a “changing financial, regulatory and infrastructure context.”
Catalina’s Project Catalina declined EHB funding in favour of the Spanish Hydrogen Valleys scheme while Benbros Energy’s El Alamillo H2 project withdrew before signing the grant agreement, without publicly specifying reasons.
