Swiss in €1.8Bn green hydrogen project

Axpo Group, Switzerland’s largest producer and distributor of electricity from renewable sources, is looking for business opportunities on the Iberian peninsula and is pushing for a green hydrogen project in Portugal.

According to ECO online last week the Swiss state-owned company has “already begun talks with Portuguese partners.”
The plan is to develop a large photovoltaic solar plant with electrolyses in the Sines region which is similar to the same project that GALP and EDP recently withdrew from reports the Algarve Resident newspaper.
ECO states that Axpo’s head of renewables Christopher Sutter “recently met with the Secretary of State for Energy João Galamba to talk about Axpo’s new plans for hydrogen in Sines.”
“On the Portuguese side, sources connected to the process also confirmed that the meeting took place about a fortnight ago at the company’s offices in Zurich”.
The CEO of Axpo, Christophe Brand, however,“prefers not to reveal yet if there are concrete plans around the corner”, says ECO.
He limited his information to stating “if there are good opportunities to invest in solar photovoltaic projects in Portugal, of course we will be there”. “We are certainly trying to build a pipeline of projects in the country. Why not invest there?”
The development comes at a time when João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Portugal’s minister for the environment and climate action, is preparing to officially launch the government’s “support for the production of renewable hydrogen and other reenable gases” as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. (RRP) funded by Brussels.
The support programme will involve a total of €185 million.
“The government hasn’t yet revealed the value of this first advice (on grant-funded support) but has already set a ceiling of €15 million project. Candidacies will be opened for projects using various technologies, from electrolysis, methanation, biomethane and biomass gasification — opening the doors to Axpo’s entry into Portuguese hydrogen”.