Hydrogen can play an important role for Italy, which is why various strategies can be adopted to make it a clean energy hub.
What does this mean?
Thanks to its excellent central location in the Mediterranean and its vast gas infrastructure, our country can become Europe’s main distributor of green hydrogen by 2050.
Italy stands to become a major player in the development of renewables in the coming years.
Let us see in detail how.
The energy situation in Italy
The energy situation in Italy has always been in a state of flux. In fact, our country still depends on foreign imports for energy supply through the use of pipelines.
As is well known, the main energy sources used in Italy are:
- fossil fuel sources, with a strong prevalence of natural gas and a coal component
- renewable sources, where photovoltaics are among the fastest growing renewable sources together with traditional hydroelectric production.
Precisely on the renewable energy front, Italy is one of the countries in the vanguard thanks to the natural resources from which it can draw energy: such as the sun, water and wind, which play an important role in the national energy mix.
Why Italy should become a reference point for hydrogen
Italy, thanks to its strategic position, can become a reference point for hydrogen.
The recent war in Ukraine has in fact changed the role the Mediterranean can play in terms of energy and, consequently, also that of our country. The crisis triggered has reversed the transport flows in the gas infrastructure: previously used to import gas from the North Sea and Russia, it has now become a strategic element for energy stability by shifting production itself to North Africa and the Caspian Sea.
But that is not all. The European Commission has presented Fit For 55, a package of legislative proposals aimed at decarbonisation by promoting the spread and adoption of clean hydrogen in industry, energy and transport.
At the same time, Italy has been committed to integrating hydrogen into the national energy plan for several years. One example is the creation of the Hydrogen Valleys, real green hydrogen supply chains in disused industrial areas. This is why we are working to integrate distributed hydrogen production with production from renewable sources, solar and wind, in North Africa.
So why can Italy become a reference point for hydrogen?
Italy has a dense network of pipelines and infrastructure.
The construction of a hub for the transport and distribution of green hydrogen produced in North Africa will benefit Italy:
- renewal and expansion of the already existing infrastructure
- centrality in continental supply as transit infrastructure
- reduction of supply costs
- advantages for end consumers
- competitiveness of our industrial system
Steps to accredit ourselves as an international hydrogen hub
In order to be accredited as an international hydrogen hub, Italy needs to start moving in several respects. In particular:
- support research
- promote the production of hydrogen and its derivatives
- stimulate demand for hydrogen
- close the remaining legislative and regulatory gaps
- build a hydrogen culture
Simplifhy: a reference point for hydrogen
We at Simplifhy, as the first Italian provider, are ready to offer our know-how and solutions to become a reference point for hydrogen.
We propose ourselves as a single supplier for the realisation of solutions for the decarbonisation of industry through technologies based on the use of hydrogen as an energy vector and as an alternative fuel with a complete and customised offer.
Our many years of experience in the field of energy and hydrogen allows us to design innovative solutions for the production, storage, and use of hydrogen.
In particular, we deal with:
- consulting for the design and implementation of ‘custom-made’ hydrogen plants
- supply of equipment and implementation of complete plants for the production and use of hydrogen
- support for foreign companies that want to implement solutions for the production and use of hydrogen in Italy
- national and European calls for tenders for the financing and implementation of innovative projects for decarbonisation with technologies based on the use of hydrogen.
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