A Spanish consortium has started commissioning tests to produce renewable hydrogen in Mallorca, while another consortium led by Portuguese energy giants EPD and Galp is set to develop 100MW of green hydrogen production in Sines, Portugal. Lightsource bp and Dourogás have also agreed to set up a joint venture to invest in solar and green hydrogen infrastructure in Portugal.

Engie unit Tractebel is developing the technology. Elsewhere, the European Commission has approved, under state aid rules, a €900 million German scheme to support investment in green hydrogen production for EU consumption and Spanish company H2B2 Electrolysis Technologies is developing a project to generate up to 1,000kg per day of electrolytic hydrogen in California.

Rolls-Royce is supplying its mtu hydrogen technology for the container terminal currently under construction at the Port of Duisburg in Germany. Furthermore, German energy company RWE wants to produce green hydrogen at the Pembroke Power Station site in Wales and Norway’s Scatec discussed plans for large-scale seawater desalination, hydrogen and ammonia production based on renewable power with the Egyptian government. Meanwhile, the EU has adopted a set of legislative proposals to decarbonize the EU gas market by facilitating the uptake of low carbon gases, including hydrogen.

Elsewhere, Air Products is planning to build a 2 GW electrolysis plant in Saudi Arabia and Protium is deploying its first 100 kW electrolyzer in the U.K.

Developed by Canada-based Hydrogen Optimized, the electrolyzer can be used to stabilize electrical grids and optimize energy recovery from intermittent renewable power sources such as solar and wind. Furthermore, this week four more big international partnerships for developing green hydrogen were announced across Germany, the Middle East, and Australia.

The International Energy Agency said the four nations are on track to contribute 85% of the 18 GW of global renewables capacity which is set to be dedicated to green hydrogen production by 2026. Elsewhere, the Port of Valencia has unveiled a plan to install a green hydrogen supply station in the new year.

A surge of Italian PV project activity is soon expected if the local authorities get out of the way. With the market, financial and policy settings in place, the market is set to see a return to bustling PV project activity, with regulatory reforms clearing the way forward, reports Sergio Matalucci in Milan.

Meanwhile, on the Iberian Peninsula, H2 Green Steel (H2GS) and Iberdrola plan to establish a 1 GW green hydrogen production facility, and Acciona and Plug Power want to deploy green hydrogen facilities across Spain and Portugal.

Also, Petroleum Development Oman wants to become the main player in the country’s plans to become a hydrogen hub and Emirates Global Aluminium says it wants to increase its hydrogen consumption.

Paolo Rocco Viscontini, president of trade association Italia Solare, has spoken to pv magazine about the challenge high system prices pose to Italian solar and discussed the nation’s ‘super bonus’ tax deduction, which remains the main market driver for small scale arrays.