Hydrogen new core focus in Snam’s strategic plan

LONDON (ICIS)–Italy is set to reach 5GW of installed electrolyser capacity by 2030, Italian transmission system operator (TSO) Snam Rete Gas said on Wednesday presenting the company’s strategic plan for the next four years.

This in line with the strategy laid out by the ministry of economic development on Tuesday, which is under public consultation until 21 December.

Snam’s goal to develop electrolyser capacity is part of the company’s new goal to cut emissions by 50% by 2030, up from a previous target of 40%.

INVESTMENTS

Snam stated it wants to become carbon neutral by 2040 and to achieve that goal is set to invest €7.4bn. This was around €1 billion above the previous year’s plan.

Of these investments, 50% is dedicated to upgrading infrastructure, including replacing and developing new assets. Works should mainly concern pipe replacement and converting eight compression stations into gas/electric hybrid.

According to Snam, more than 70% of the Italian pipes are ready to transport hydrogen and standards have been defined for the purchase of exclusively hydrogen ready components.

CEO Marco Alvera said the company envisions to produce a larger amount of hydrogen in the south of the country exploiting the regional solar potential, and export hydrogen to the north of the country where most of the demand is traditionally located. The opportunity to Italy becoming a hydrogen exporter towards northern of Europe was also mentioned.

The production costs for renewable capacity have been significantly dropping recently and this is set to further speed up the hydrogen technology development in the country in the next few years, Alvera said.

ITALIAN HYDROGEN ROADMAP

The Italian hydrogen roadmap, launched on Tuesday, outlined 5GW of electrolyser capacity to be installed by 2030 for the production of green hydrogen, joining Germany with the second-largest pledge across EU nations.

France has so far made the largest pledge of 6.5GW.

This commitment from the Italian government means European electrolyser capacity could total 26.5GW by 2030. Just 13.5GW of capacity is yet to be pledged to meet the European Commission’s 40GW target.

The Italian roadmap shows a clear-cut need for additional renewable capacity – something that is absent from many pledges from other European nations.

A series of measures will be put in place to streamline authorisation processes for installing new renewable plants.

As well as green hydrogen, the document acknowledges that blue hydrogen could be established as Italy transitions away from current grey hydrogen production.

AREAS OF USE

The plan outlines two key areas of use up to 2030: transport and industry.

Both rail and long-haul vehicles were outlined as main areas of transport to decarbonise with green hydrogen up to 2030. However further afield the low-carbon commodity could be applied to other areas of transportation.

The roadmap also argues that up to 2030 green hydrogen can become cost competitive in chemical, industrial and refining processes.

Blending of hydrogen into the Italian gas network is also part of the plan to 2030. The roadmap indicated that hydrogen would make up 2% of final energy demand by the end of the decade.

Beyond 2030 the plan earmarks hydrogen for use in heating and for power generation, and by 2050 hydrogen is expected to make up 20% of final energy demand in Italy.

INVESTMENT

The roadmap earmarks €10bn of investment by 2030 to meet the 5GW target and establish needed hydrogen infrastructure.

€5-7bn is currently planned for developing the production of hydrogen, with €2-3bn outlined for distribution – such as the building of refuelling stations for fuel cell trucks. Lastly, €1bn could be committed for research and development.

Additional reporting by Jake Stones