Hydrogen: a further 31 million on top of the PNRR – Sicily seeks to tap into the market

For Irem, the project marks a new phase: Res Integra is not limiting itself to construction, but will directly manage the plant. As Musso points out, this is the first time the group has combined the construction of a plant with its management – in this case, a green plant. This development forms part of a broader strategy: Irem is currently also involved in the construction, in Sweden, of a CO₂ storage facility and a green steel production plant.

The Priolo case is therefore of interest not only because of the scale of the project, but also because it illustrates the transition from the construction phase to industrial operation: actual production, operational continuity, costs and market outlets.

Partinico, on the other hand, represents an attempt to create value through technology. Magic Engineering, which evolved from Magicmotorsport, has completed work on the industrial hydrogen laboratory and is now aiming to commission the plant. The company intends to develop research, experimentation and training activities centred on this infrastructure and transform the site into a technology hub dedicated to hydrogen.

The vision still needs to be fleshed out with scientific partners, programmes, patents and industrial applications, but it offers a different model to the ‘Hydrogen Valleys’ found in major industrial areas. In Priolo, hydrogen could find applications in refining and the chemical industry; in Partinico, the added value could lie primarily in the expertise, engineering services and technologies developed around the plant.

Outside the PNRR, there is also the prospect of major private projects. The most significant of these is HYNEGO in the Priolo-Augusta cluster: 100 MW of electrolysis in the first phase, with the potential to reach 300 MW, and the aim of supplying green hydrogen to the ISAB refinery. This is on a vastly larger scale than the PNRR plants, but precisely for this reason the project has yet to pass the crucial test of industrial viability and secure the final investment decision.

This is where the Sicilian strategy comes in today. The first phase has brought public funding, infrastructure and 9.16 MW, which the Region has already recorded as installed. Two PNRR projects are yet to be completed, whilst other private projects remain at the development stage.

The 31.2 million call for proposals, which closes in September, comes at precisely this juncture. The ranking will not only reveal how many new plants will be funded: it will also show which companies are still willing to invest, where they intend to do so and, above all, whether industrial demand is beginning to emerge. After the funding and the megawatts, Sicilian hydrogen now faces its toughest test: that of the market.