Portuguese Environment Agency APA has issued a conditional favourable opinion on the GreenH2Atlantic hydrogen project in Sines, Setúbal region, stipulating that the water used in production and cooling must be reused or sourced from the sea.
GreenH2Atlantic and associated projects, part of the Hytlantic consortium led by Portuguese energy companies, EDP and Galp, with shareholders including Bondalti, Martifer and Vestas, is already considered to be of Potential National Interest (PIN). Its aim is to produce hydrogen (H2) through water electrolysis at the site of the former Sines thermal power station.
According to the consortium, the green hydrogen production unit uses solar and wind energy as sources for the electrolysis process, and includes the installation of a 100 MW (megawatt) electrolyser.
Around 30% of the H2 produced will be sent to Galp’s Sines refinery, and the remainder may be sent to the injection point in REN Gasodutos’ National Gas Transmission Network.
Despite the favourable decision, APA notes that the project is subject to compliance with a set of environmental requirements – particularly regarding the source of the water used in the electrolysis and cooling processes.
According to the EIS ( environmental impact study), “the water supply for the electrolysis and cooling processes” must “be sourced exclusively from Water for Reuse (ApR) or seawater”.
In other words, “surface water and/or groundwater intended for human consumption may not be used for hydrogen production”, it adds.
The EIS includes over a hundred mitigation measures for the various phases of the project, as well as monitoring programmes, plans and supplementary programmes.
Among the most significant measures are the monitoring of water resources and the marine environment, the protection of biodiversity, the safeguarding of cultural heritage, the management of noise and dust during construction, and the implementation of an Internal Emergency Plan.
APA has also mandated habitat management and restoration measures “in an area of no less than 58.63 hectares”, within the scope of the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park and the Southwest Coast Special Area of Conservation.
The measure aims to benefit the little bustard and other protected or endangered species, in coordination with the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.
In a statement sent to Lusa today, Hytlantic highlighted this “important milestone in the project’s development process” assuring it will “analyse the recommendations and proposed measures”, as well as their “integration into the engineering designs”.
The developer also stressed that it will proceed with “further studies” to “confirm the economic viability of the project” and subsequently submit it to the “final stage of environmental licensing”.
“The implementation of the project will always be subject to a final investment decision”, which, among other aspects, “will involve verifying a regulatory framework that is favourable to the creation of a green hydrogen market”, said the statement.
The H2 project envisages a connection to a network of transport, storage and distribution infrastructure, to be developed by REN Gasodutos, for the creation of the first green hydrogen hub in the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone.
Should this network not go ahead, Hytlantic is open to building a dedicated pipeline to transport the hydrogen to the Sines refinery and the National Gas Transmission Network.
The future plant, which has received European Union funding totalling €92 million, will have a maximum production capacity of around 1.7 tonnes of hydrogen per hour.
Source: LUSA
