Hydrogen – Greek companies participating in the 5 major EU projects

By joint decision, the Ministers of Development and Investment and Environment and Energy, Adonis Georgiadis and Costas Skrekas, approved the participation of five Greek projects in the first wave of Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) “Hydrogenated”, which were following a written communication between the two ministers and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and the Media, Thierry Breton.

This development means that the projects in question are one step closer to being supported by European Union financial instruments and to participating in the emerging European hydrogen value chain.

The five projects

In particular, in a total of 20 dossiers submitted to the joint invitation of the Ministries of Development and Investment and Environment and Energy to submit proposals for projects that can compose the Greek participation in IPCEI “Hydrogen” the following five projects were selected, after evaluation by a special Interministerial Committee of Experts:

1. Blue Med: A project of Motor Oil which consists in the production of blue hydrogen with very low carbon footprint and green hydrogen, with a horizon of 2025. The project envisages the creation of a cluster of integrated production cycle of blue and green H2 for transport, distribution and use in industry and transport (buses and ships). The participation of DESFA and PPC companies as well as research institutes of the country is expected in the project.

2. Green HIPo: Project of Advanced Energy Technologies (Advent Technologies) for the construction of a production unit for innovative electrolytes and fuel cells. Combined heat and energy (CHP) fuel cells are designed to be produced by Advent for Project White Dragon. The production will take place on the company’s production line, with installation in Western Macedonia.

3. White Dragon: Cluster of projects for the production of green hydrogen in Western Macedonia through electrolysis by solar energy and its distribution through the DESFA network and the TAP pipeline. DEPA Emporias SA participates in the project (as coordinator) Advent Technologies SA, COPELOUZOS GROUP (DAMCO ENERGY SA), Corinth Pipeworks SA, TAP AG, DESFA, the Hellenic Petroleum groups, of MOTOR-OIL and PPC.

4. H2CAT TANKS: Project of the company B&T Composites (TIRIAKIDIS VASILEIOS AETE) for the construction of innovative high pressure tanks from composite materials and carbon fibers for the storage of hydrogen, especially for the transport sector

5. H2CEM – TITAN: Pioneer in the Greek Production of Cement using Green Hydrogen. The project concerns the production, storage and use of green hydrogen for combustion to produce energy in furnaces with the aim of decarbonizing the cement plants of TITAN.

Proposals approved by EU Member States participate in Challenge Sessions and related Workshops which are now coordinated at European level to encourage the development of collaborations between projects. According to the coordinators’ categorization, the projects Green HIPo, White Dragon and H2CAT Tanks belong to the IPCEI sub-category “Hydrogen technologies” and Blue Med and H2CEM to the sub-category “hydrocarbonization”.

Following the approval and notification of the projects by the Member States, each scheme will be required to prove to the European Commission that the projects are technically and financially mature, in accordance with the IPCEI criteria. Among other things, the innovative character, the proposed industrial development, the possibility of undertaking and successful implementation of the project by the interested party, the feasibility of the proposed projects, the spill-over effects and the completeness of the business plan. The process will result in the precise determination of the financial gap that will have to be filled by national and European aid.

The aim of the Greek participation in the first wave of IPCEI “Hydrogen” is to signal the beginning of a domestic hydrogen economy, through the implementation of the selected projects and its connection with the emerging pan-European hydrogen value chain. This will be achieved by the parallel creation of an industrial scale of hydrogen production, processing, storage and transport units, but also the creation of domestic demand, initially supplying energy-intensive industrial consumers and continuing with the sectors of transport and navigation.

The development of the hydrogen market is expected to make a decisive contribution to the achievement of the European goal of transition to climate neutrality by 2050. At home, hydrogen can play an important role in the further carbonization of the Greek energy mix and in the smooth energy transition environmentally friendly and fully compatible with the EU climate change strategy.

Finally, it is noted that according to the EU planning, the Member States will be invited in the next period, to propose thematic units for the formation of the next SEKEE “Hydrogen” waves, while the second IPCEI Hydrogen wave is launched after the completion of the ongoing planning.