Portugal’s Ministry of the Environment has announced a decisive €70 million allocation to back the production of hydrogen, the cornerstone of renewable gases. This funding will fall under REPowerEU, a Europe-wide strategy aimed at weaning the continent off Russian fossil fuel dependence by 2030, in the aftermath of Russia’s Ukraine invasion in 2022.
The office of Minister Duarte Cordeiro has emphasized a cumulative €185 million investment channeled through the Recovery and Resilience Programme, directed specifically towards enhancing the production of hydrogen and other renewable gases. The first round saw an allocation of €102 million, bolstering 25 new projects with a combined installed capacity of 106 MW.
The second initiative, brimming with an €83 million allocation, has drawn a total of 49 applications. Of these, 39 are aimed at green hydrogen projects, nine are for biomethane initiatives, and one includes both renewable gases.
“In total, the applications submitted are expected to add 443 MW of production capacity, corresponding to a requested funding amount of €353 million for a total investment of €906 million,” the environment ministry illuminated.
Portugal’s commitment to renewable energy and particularly hydrogen is reflected in the revised Energy and Climate Plan 2030 (PNEC 2030). The nation has unveiled an ambitious blueprint to more than double the electrolyser capacity by 2030, growing from 2.5 GW to an impressive 5.5 GW. This illustrates Portugal’s positioning at the forefront of the renewable hydrogen revolution.
In a further leap towards greening its energy landscape, the Portuguese government plans to launch an auction by the end of this year for the centralized purchase of biomethane and renewable hydrogen. This aligns with the country’s strategy to inject these renewable gases into the national grid. A total of 120 GWh/year of renewable hydrogen will be auctioned, equivalent to nearly 0.4% of Portugal’s annual natural gas consumption.
A 10-year contract period will be adopted, with maximum bid prices of 62 euros per MWh for biomethane and 127 euros per MWh for renewable hydrogen.
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