Galp injects green hydrogen into the natural gas network in a pioneer project in Portugal – Energia
Galp Gás Natural Distribuição (GGND) will inject green hydrogen into the gas network, in a pioneering experience in Portugal, financed by the Innovation Support Fund (FAI).
The “Green Pipeline Project” will cover 80 residential, tertiary and industrial customers who, from January 2022, will start receiving a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen.
Initially, 2% of hydrogen will be injected into the natural gas network, a percentage that will be gradually increased to a maximum of 20%, explains a GGND, ensuring that the entire process will be “monitored and monitored in detail by a group of “.
“It is an important milestone for the national energy system, because it promotes a shift towards a greener economy, based on one of the most modern gas distribution networks in Europe”, highlights GGND CEO Gabriel Sousa, quoted in a statement, following the project presentation event, which included, among others, the Deputy Secretary of State for Energy, João Galamba.
Green hydrogen, a 100% renewable fuel, will be produced at the Seixal Industrial Park, in the district of Setúbal, through a partnership between GGND and the Portuguese company Gestene.
But there are several other partners, from areas such as engineering and construction, as well as contributions from academia and public and private institutions, with a priority for GGND, which manages nine of the eleven gas distribution companies in Portugal, with more than 1.1 millions of active customers.
In addition to the funding, the FAI attributed to the project the assessment of “exceptional merit”, as it was “the result of an ambitious, innovative and pioneering project” in Portugal, which “intends to democratize access to a greener economy”, noted Bruno Veloso , member of the fund’s executive committee, in statements reproduced in the same note.
In parallel, he underlined, “the results and knowledge obtained from this project will be in the public domain, particularly in the interest of all ‘stakeholders’, fundamental for the rapid growth of ‘power-to-gas’ projects and ensuring that the investment results public for the benefit of all”.