With this agreement, which includes Snam’s €33 million investment in ITM Power Plc, the Company will have the opportunity to gain understanding from one of the technical leaders in a crucial intersection point for the development of green hydrogen
Snam’s global presence will also act as a driving force for the development of ITM Power, thanks to the commercial alliance for the possible development of projects in the period 2021-2025
San Donato Milanese (MI)– Snam today signed a partnership agreement with ITM Power Plc (ITM: LN), a company operating under English law and listed on the London Stock Exchange on the AIM (Alternative Investment Market). ITM Power is among the largest global producers of electrolysers, essential components in obtaining hydrogen from renewable sources through the electrolysis of water.
The agreement envisages the start of a commercial and technological collaboration for the development of future joint initiatives and the concurrent entry of Snam into the shareholder structure of ITM Power Plc with a minority stake and investment of 30 million pounds (about 33 million euros) as part of the capital increase – announced today – of 150 million pounds (about 165 million euros) offered for subscription, as well as to Snam, to institutional investors and shareholders. The subscription of the shares as part of the ITM Power capital increase will take place in cash, using Snam’s financial resources.
As part of the partnership, Snam will have the opportunity to gain relevant technical skills in the sector, with the entry of its representatives in two committees (Strategic Advisory Committee and Technology Management Committee) that support the board of ITM Power in key decisions on commercial activities and research & development. The partnership between Snam and ITM Power will also enable the two companies to foster synergies for the development of new projects, also through the secondment of Snam resources to ITM Power.
Within its strategy, focused on the development of the hydrogen value chain, Snam will be able to include ITM Power in projects for the development of green hydrogen through the use of electrolysers of “membrane” technology (PEM – Proton Exchange Membrane), up to 100MW, also in collaboration with other operators at the Italian and international levels.
The agreement follows the recent launch of the Hydrogen Strategy of the European Commission, which envisages the development of 40GW of green hydrogen in the European Union by 2030. Several European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Portugal and Spain, have already prepared or announced the launch of plans to develop hydrogen. Sam’s global presence may act as a driving force for the development and distribution of ITM Power’s products at an international level.
“The agreement with one of the main global producers of electrolysers – comments Snam CEO Marco Alverà – is Snam’s first external investment in the hydrogen sector and stands alongside those we are already advancing to make our infrastructure ready for the transport of this new clean energy carrier. The partnership with ITM Power allows us to build on our know-how in technologies for the production of green hydrogen in a way that is functional to business development and to become a player along the value chain. We want to develop new projects and contribute to enabling the supply chain, both internationally and in particular in Italy, which has the opportunity to become a green hydrogen hub between Europe and North Africa. Our goal is to help establish hydrogen and renewable gases, together with renewable electricity, as decisive solutions to achieve the international climate neutrality goals”.
ITM Power has more than ten years of experience in the development of technologies for the production of hydrogen and is one of the world’s leading producers of “membrane” technology, that is the technology that operates through the process of electrolysis of water with an electrolyser. The Company, despite the green hydrogen sector being still at an early stage of development, is already present on the global market with various solutions and boasts partnerships with leading international energy operators. ITM Power is also developing a new gigafactory in the United Kingdom which will have, by 2024, an annual production capacity of up to 1GW overall. In the last eight years, ITM Power has obtained around 30 funding grants from national and European calls such as Horizon 2020 and FCHJU, focused on innovation, sustainability, hydrogen and green tech in various areas, in particular industry and transport. ITM Power has a market capitalization of around GBP 1.4 billion.
Snam
Snam is one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure operators and one of the largest Italian listed companies in terms of market capitalization. Through its international subsidiaries, it also operates in Albania, Austria, China, France, Greece, UAE and UK. The Company has the largest natural gas transmission network and storage capacity among European peers and is also one of the main operators in regasification. As part of a €6.5 billion plan to 2023, Snam invests €1.4 bn in the SnamTec project, focused on innovation and new energy transition businesses such as sustainable mobility, biomethane and energy efficiency. Snam also aims to enable and promote the development of hydrogen to foster decarbonisation in the energy sector and industries. Snam’s business model is based on sustainable growth, transparency, the promotion of talent and diversity and the social development of local areas through the initiatives of Fondazione Snam.
ITM Power
ITM Power Plc manufactures integrated hydrogen energy solutions for grid balancing, energy storage and the production of renewable hydrogen for transport, renewable heat and chemicals. ITM Power Plc was admitted to the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in 2004. In October 2019, the Company announced the completion of a £58.8 million fundraise, including a subscription by Linde of £38 million, together with the formation of a joint-venture with Linde to focus on delivering renewable hydrogen to large scale industrial projects worldwide. ITM Power signed a forecourt siting agreement with Shell for hydrogen refuelling stations in September 2015, (which was extended in May 2019 to include buses, trucks, trains and ships) and in January 2018 a deal to deploy a 10MW electrolyser at Shell’s Rhineland refinery. ITM Power is completing the world’s largest electrolyser factory in Sheffield with a production capacity of up to 1GW (1,000MW) per annum. Customers and partners include Sumitomo, Ørsted, Phillips 66, National Grid, Cadent, Northern Gas Networks, Gasunie, RWE, Engie, BOC Linde, Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and Anglo American among others.
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