How Intesa Sanpaolo will focus on hydrogen with Brussels
Intesa Sanpaolo is the first Italian bank admitted to the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance of the European Commission. All the details
Intesa Sanpaolo is the first Italian bank and one of the first six in Europe to be admitted to the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (ECHA) of the European Commission.
WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN ALLIANCE FOR CLEAN HYDROGEN
The Clean Hydrogen Alliance aims to create the basis for the diffusion of technologies for the production of hydrogen from renewable sources ("green hydrogen", in jargon) or low carbon ("blue hydrogen") by 2030. And it aims to do so by bringing together, in joint forums and working groups, the main industrial and financial players of the continent.
Through these initiatives, the Alliance wants to support the increase in the production and demand of clean hydrogen and coordinate the actions necessary to grow supply chains that are still not industrialized today.
WHO ARE THE MEMBERS
The Clean Hydrogen Alliance has over a thousand members: the (long) list includes the Italian energy companies Enel, Eni, Saipem and Snam; the German RWE; the Danish Orsted; the French EDF, Total and Air Liquide; the Spanish Iberdrola, Siemens Gamesa and Repsol; the Norwegian Equinor.
Among the banks, Citibank, Deutsche Bank and Allianz Capital Partners are part of the Alliance.
THE ITALIAN HYDROGEN CHAIN
In a recent report , the Studies and Research Department of Intesa Sanpaolo reported about 120 Italian companies active in the hydrogen sector, for a total turnover of 7 billion euros and 19 thousand employees in 2019. These are mostly small or medium-sized companies dimensions (40 per cent have less than 10 million in turnover), operating mainly in the manufacturing sector (50 per cent) and dedicated to innovation (approximately 2600 patents filed).
According to the study, there are "signals for the creation of systems for the local production and use of green hydrogen in Italy (the green corridor of Brenner, the train of Valle Camonica, the hydrogen hub of Marghera, hydrogen to wind di Ravenna) which suggest the emergence of new industrial opportunities for local ecosystems ".
THE CLIMATE OBJECTIVES OF THE EU
The European Union wants international leadership in the clean hydrogen sector, in line with the climate objectives set. In fact, by 2050 it intends to achieve carbon neutrality, or the net elimination of greenhouse gas emissions.
By 2030, however, Brussels wants to install electrolysers – that is machinery for the production of green hydrogen – on the European territory for at least 40 gigawatts of capacity, which will make it possible to obtain 10 million tons of green hydrogen.
USES AND POTENTIALITY OF HYDROGEN
Combustion of hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide.
In addition to the production of energy, hydrogen is also an energy carrier: it can in fact be used to store the energy produced by non-programmable and intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar, and then use it when necessary.
But hydrogen can also be used as a raw material in various chemical processes for industry and agriculture, or for powering heavy transport and aviation. Green or blue hydrogen represents a possible solution to decarbonise industrial processes defined as hard-to-abate , that is, those in which the reduction of emissions is particularly difficult to achieve with current technologies.
WHAT HOLDS HYDROGEN
Currently, the use of hydrogen is held back by the high costs associated with production, but the economies of scale that will derive from the industrialization of the processes and the learning economies associated with cumulative production volumes promise a break-even as early as 2030.
INVESTMENT TIMES AND COSTS
Investment cycles in the energy sector and related infrastructure typically last more than 25 years. However, the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance aims to identify the best options to invest in and a significant reduction in time will be possible.
To meet the clean hydrogen production and marketing targets by 2030, the European Union estimates that investments of around € 430 billion will be needed.
WHAT INTESA SANPAOLO DOES IN THE IPCEI PROGRAM
Intesa Sanpaolo has participated in the IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) program of the European Commission since 2019, paying particular attention to the clean hydrogen supply chain.
Intesa Sanpaolo is also committed to facilitating the access of companies to the IPCEI program and has ongoing initiatives aimed at verifying the financial sustainability of their projects.
With the IPCEI program, European companies that present projects related to the production, storage, use and marketing of clean hydrogen will be able to receive non-repayable grants and funding from both the EU and national governments, in exemption from regulations on state aid and up to the total coverage of 100% of eligible costs within the limits of the funding gap.
THE COMMENT OF MAURO MICILLO
"Clean hydrogen is the key to accelerating the energy transition of many production sectors and will make it possible to apply the circular economy to contexts that are unthinkable today, with undoubted environmental benefits and important social repercussions", says Mauro Micillo, Chief of the IMI Corporate & Division Investment Banking of Intesa Sanpaolo.
“Technology must be developed, industrialized and made more and more efficient and convenient,” he says. “The European Union is strongly determined to become a global industrial leader in some key technological sectors, such as hydrogen. The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, to which Intesa Sanpaolo was recently admitted, has the mission to implement the new European hydrogen strategy and build a series of projects to increase the production and demand of clean hydrogen. We are convinced that we can contribute significantly to the Alliance's round tables and allow European companies to seize the opportunities of a sector in full development ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/intesa-sanpaolo-idrogeno-commissione-europea/ on Tue, 22 Jun 2021 14:31:12 +0000.