The latest version of the Italian recovery plan Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) approved over the weekend by the Italian cabinet will fast-track the green hydrogen sector and clean mobility, boosting the country’s electric recharging infrastructure.

The plan covers the period 2021-2026. The government however intends to install 5 gigawatt of electrolysis capacity to produce green hydrogen by 2026 and will invest €3.64 billion ($4.39 billion) to develop a hydrogen industry, the PNRR text obtained by Kallanish says.

In line with the European target to reach 40 gigawatt capacity of green hydrogen by 2050, Italy will develop “flagship projects for hydrogen use in hard-to-abate industrial sectors starting from steelmaking promoting the creation of hydrogen valleys particularly in abandoned industrial sites and facilitating - through recharging stations - the use of hydrogen for heavy transport and selected non electrified railways tracks” the PNRR text states, with the objective to relaunch former industrial sites; complete the legal framework for green hydrogen production, transport and distribution; and support research programmes and start-ups.

According to the hydrogen “mission” mentioned in the report, the country will install electrolysers in industrial areas that are connected to the grid. The green gas produced could be transported through tanker trucks or injected into the gas network in case the industrial site selected is close to the national gas infrastructure. The possibility of refuelling stations for trucks is also envisaged. Between 1-5 megawatt capacity of green hydrogen per site will be installed in the next years.

Hydrogen is also seen as a means to decarbonise hard-to-abate industrial sectors such as the chemical and refining industry. Today in Italy the chemical industry produces grey hydrogen from natural gas. This production process however emits between 7-9 kilograms of CO2 per kg of H2, the report says. Today refinery hydrogen production stands at approximately 0.5 million tonnes of H2 per year.

The steel sector is also considered one of the hard-to-abate industry together with cement, paper and the glass industry.

The country will develop by 2026 40 refuelling hydrogen stations for road transport in an effort to decarbonise particularly the heavy long-haul transport sector. The stations will suit cars and trucks with pressure beyond the 700 bars. Hydrogen conversion for the national railway system is part of the PNRR plan to replace outdated diesel trains with hydrogen-powered trains on non-electrified tracks.

Together with hydrogen, Italy will facilitate access for electric vehicles recharging by 2026. The report forecasts 6m electric vehicles on European roads by 2030 and the need for 31,500 public charging points. In Italy, 7,500 charging points will be installed on the country’s motorways while 13,755 points will be built in city centres together with 100 “experimental charging points” completed with energy storage technology. The country’s old buses, trains and fire fighters’ vehicles will be replaced with electric or plug-in-hybrid vehicles. By 2026, the country plans to buy 3,360 new electric buses, 53 low emission trains powered by hydrogen or electric, and 3,600 electric fire fighting vehicles.

The PNRR  identifies six missions for which Italy will ask the EU a maximum of €191.5 billion. The total amount allocated for mission 2 related to hydrogen, electric mobility and energy transition investment stands at €69.69 billion.