Italy’s Puglia to Host €370 Million Green Hydrogen Initiative Backed by EU

The European Commission has committed up to €370 million in funding to establish a ‘Green Hydrogen Valley’ in the Puglia region of Italy, as announced by participating energy companies.

Edison, Saipem, and Sosteneo, a green investment arm of Generali, revealed that the project has been recognized as a key venture of shared European interest, thereby securing financial support from the European Union. This initiative aims to leverage green hydrogen, generated from renewable energy sources, to phase out fossil fuels in certain high-energy-consuming sectors across the EU, aligning with the bloc’s carbon reduction goals. The project outlines the creation of a 260 MW solar photovoltaic power capacity and a 160 MW electrolysis facility near Brindisi and Taranto for green hydrogen production.

This eco-friendly fuel is intended for use in a direct reduced iron process to lower carbon emissions in Taranto’s major steel plant and several other Italian steel factories. Additionally, Italy’s national grid operator Snam disclosed that its proposal to upgrade and extend pipelines for the hydrogen project in Puglia has also been selected for the EU’s important project list. Snam anticipates the project’s completion by 2028, with an estimated investment of €100 million.