Sicily’s first green hydrogen project gets green light

Energy company Duferco Energia has received environmental approval from Sicilian authorities to build the island’s first green hydrogen facility.

Supported with €10m ($11.6m) from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), the 1MW project could produce up to 100 tonnes of green hydrogen per year for use in industrial sectors like steel, logistics and mobility.

While no construction timeline has been confirmed, state-owned Ansaldo Green Tech previously confirmed it would supply an for the project.

Located in the Giammoro industrial area and powered by a 4MW solar park, it will form part of Duferco’s larger €95m ($108.9m) plans to revive local steelworks.

While still challenged by high costs and low availability, green hydrogen is an increasingly viable route to decarbonising industrial processes.

Francesco Colianni, Regional Councillor for Energy and Public Utilities in Sicily, said the authorisation marks a key step for the region’s journey to becoming a Mediterranean hub for clean technologies.

Italy’s NRRP is supporting more than 50 industrial projects integrating hydrogen with €500m ($579m) of investment.

Renewable energy major, Axpo, and French investment firm, Enego, are studying a in Sicily to decarbonise refinery operations, with the potential for connection to the European hydrogen network and scale-up to 300MW.

Europe’s proposed hydrogen backbone also includes a subsea pipeline from Tunisia, through Sicily, and onto mainland Italy, potentially positioning it as an intercontinental hydrogen bridge.