Israel-based GenCell has unveiled an off-grid hydrogen power solution based on alkaline fuel cell (AFC) technology. Italian energy giant Enel and Russian technology company Rusnano want to set up Russia’s first green-hydrogen production project at a wind farm in the Murmansk region.

Italian hydrogen and fuel cells association H2IT is urging the national government to support investment in green hydrogen and ensure medium-long payback periods. The trade body’s goal is to build large-scale electrolyzers (>100 MW) to decrease green hydrogen’s price below €2.0/kg.

Furthermore, Germany-based large-bore diesel engines and turbomachinery company MAN Energy Solutions is acquiring the majority of shares in the Augsburg-based electrolyzer manufacturer H-TEC Systems, while the India H2 Alliance is expanding with the aim of building consensus for a common path towards hydrogen commercialization in India’s steel and cement sectors.

Belgian mechanical engineering group John Cockerill wants to set up its electrolyzer gigafactory for the production of green hydrogen in northeastern France. Galp Energia plans to install a 100-megawatt electrolyzer to power its refinery in Sines, Portugal, with green hydrogen, by 2025.

Furthermore, Swiss energy company Axpo and Swedish-Swiss electrical equipment giant ABB committed to combining their technologies and skills for several projects related to green hydrogen in Italy and Germany’s gas transmission system operators Gascade and Ontras announced a plan to set up a platform for the hydrogen industry in eastern Germany, with an initial grid to cover 475 kilometers of pipelines.

According to two new pieces of research, Europe is on track to reach 2.7 GW of operational hydrogen electrolyzer capacity by 2025 and most of this capacity is expected to be located in Germany. Furthermore, three European gas associations have assessed the competitiveness of the different transportation options for hydrogen and have found it depends on the distance over which hydrogen is transported, as well as on scale and end-use.

Energy communities, recognized and supported in Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, could soon increase their role in the country’s energy transition, Italian research agency ENEA told pv magazine.

French energy company TotalEnergies and Russia’s second-largest natural gas producer, Novatek, are exploring new opportunities in the development of decarbonized blue hydrogen and ammonia. Anglo-Dutch energy major Royal Dutch Shell has awarded the Australian engineering company Worley a services contract to support the development of a new 200 MW electrolysis-based hydrogen plant in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

“RES1 has not worked,” said operators commenting on Italy’s auction scheme for renewables. The lack of concrete projects to be submitted to the auctions is due to a combination of factors primarily based on “excessive bureaucracy,” and the impossibility of ground-mounted PV projects in agricultural areas to get incentives, they added. Nonetheless, things could soon change, especially if an RES2 scheme is implemented.

The government of Mauritania and renewable energy developer CWP Global have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a 30 GW power-to-X project. Danish power company Ørsted, and Copenhagen’s utility, Hofor, entered into an agreement that will secure green power in the framework of the wider, 1.3 GW, Green Fuels for Denmark project.