“There is no one in the world producing green hydrogen using the concentration of solar radiation. Our technology is highly innovative and pioneering”, as “it is the first project in the world on a production scale”, said João Wahnon, from Fusion Fuel.

This Portuguese company is developing the H2 Évora project, which includes the installation of two parks for the production of green hydrogen, one next to the city’s industrial park and the other near the town of Nossa Senhora da Tourega.

“These units capture solar radiation, concentrate the solar radiation 1,500 times, taking advantage of this concentrated energy and the heat it produces. Electrolysis is then carried out to produce high efficiency green hydrogen” , which is reflected “in low cost”, he explained.

João Wahnon said that the hydrogen produced in these parks, which will start operating fully in September, will be “compressed and stored” and a part will be used for the production of electricity using a “fuel cell”.

Fusion Fuel’s hydrogen will be “mostly” for “injection into the natural gas network and supply to consumer industries, such as refineries, ceramics and cement” and “hydrogen vehicle service stations”, he added.

“With this operation, we were able to finance and capitalise the company to an amount sufficient to face our ambitious strategic plan, which involves Portugal, but also many other places in the world”, he stressed.

In addition to the two parks in Évora and businesses all over the world, the company is also building an industrial unit in Benavente (Santarém), representing an investment of €35 million, to manufacture technology for projects to be developed in Portugal and for export.

The administrator revealed that Fusion Fuel has yet another project in Portugal, which is in the “licensing” phase, for “the installation of 624 megawatts of electrolysis capacity to produce 61 thousand tonnes of hydrogen per year”, in an investment that should reach “€655 million” in the coming years.

“We are talking about an investment that will start small, with €31 million, in 2022”, he said.

In this sense, he added, the company has already selected “more than 800 hectares” for the installation of parks in Sines and Santiago do Cacém, in the district of Setúbal, in Ota, in the municipality of Alenquer (Lisbon), and in Portalegre.