EPC tender for solar-powered hydrogen project in Portugal

Fourteen companies applied to the first stage of Hyperion Renewables’ green hydrogen EPC tender in Portugal.

Of those, seven were selected based on their technical experience and economic capacity, with the project cost evaluated at €11.5 million.

In the second stage of the tender, “the proposals will be evaluated according to technical and economic criteria,” João Santana Ramos, project manager at Hyperion, told pv magazine. “If all the specifications required in the tender documents are met, the three main criteria for evaluation of the applications will be: price; energy efficiency of the Hydrogen Production Unit (HPU); and deadline for the delivery of the plant.”

A solar PV plant with a production capacity of 12 MW will be adjacent to the HPU. Additionally, a renewable PPA will be established to raise the load factor of the electrolyzers and maximize production. The PPA will “meet the standards required by the EU so that all hydrogen produced is considered green,” said Santana Ramos. The electrolyzers will produce 1,500 Nm3, or 135 kg, of green hydrogen per hour. “The exact output capacity of the electrolyzers depends on the supplier and their equipment efficiency, but it should be around 7.5 MW,” he explained.

The hydrogen will be produced at a high purity level (>99.999%), making it suitable for many applications. One of its destinations will be the sale to off-takers who will load tube trailers on-site, as compressed hydrogen at about 200-300 bars. Its second destination will be the Portuguese natural gas distribution network. A 3.5 to 4 km pipeline will be built between the production unit and the network injection point, with the hydrogen injected at a pressure of 20 bar.

The companies bidding for construction of the plant are mostly from Portugal and Spain. Portuguese companies include Construção e Manutenção Electromecânica (CME) in partnership with French PEM electrolyzers producer Elogen; PRF Gas Solutions; Cimontubo; and ERI Engenharia. On the Spanish side are Elecnor Group, and H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies in partnership with the Portuguese FCC Industrial and RCC. The Swiss Proman completes the list of bidders competing in the second stage of the tender.

The tender follows the procedure established by the EU-funded Operational Programme for Sustainability and Efficient Use of Resources — PO SEUR in Portuguese — which last year awarded the Hyperion Green H2 Setúbal project €5 million in CAPEX support.

Hyperion Renewables counts with more than 15 years of experience in the Iberian renewable energy industry, mainly focusing on solar energy, with a portfolio of some 2 GW of projects that are completed and in development. The company is currently developing over 280 MW of green hydrogen production through electrolysis, distributed over four projects, three of them located in Portugal and one in Spain's Badajoz region.