The large project H2CRETE Valley was officially presented in Brussels during the Hydrogen Week.

The successful presentation of the H2CRETE Valley project took place during the Hydrogen Week held in Brussels from November 20th to 24th. The project of the German Energy Company ProEuropean Trading GmbH is being handled by the experienced Engineers and Economists of the world-renowned company RINA, and the presentation was given by the Vice President, Mr. Andrea Bombardi, of Carbon Reduction Excellence.

RINA is a global certification, inspection, testing, and consulting services company, founded in Italy with a long history dating back to 1861. RINA specializes in various sectors, including shipping, energy, infrastructure, and industry, offering technical services aimed at improving safety and quality. RINA is also involved in the development and implementation of innovative solutions to support its clients in achieving sustainable development. RINA has an extensive global network, with over 200 offices and laboratories in 70 countries, and employs more than 5,300 people. The company’s headquarters are located in Genoa, Italy. During the presentation, Mr. Bombardi analyzed the H2CRETE Valley project as follows:

The energy transition, as a roadmap towards net-zero, is pervasive to all the sectors and must leverage on all the technologies and solutions that could help reach this goal. Industrial players need to balance the technology maturity with long term investments, infrastructure readiness with EU policies, energy independence with feasibility.

In this context, Hydrogen (H2) will play a major role in the energy transition. Hydrogen technologies provide a mature and competitive solutions towards EU energy security and decarbonization strategies.  

H2 Production process (electrolysis) and RES power generation are becoming cheaper, making Green H2 a strong alternative in the energy transformation of many hard-to-abate industries. 

The European Union aims to achieve a domestic production of 10 million tons by 2030. To meet the production targets set by EU, additional investments in production capacity are necessary, particularly in Green H2. 

“In this well-known and challenging context, H2CRETE Valley is a pioneer project since it allows the island of Crete, also for its strategic position, to become a Green Hydrogen hub and a key pillar of entry, transmission, and distribution of energy from North Africa to Europe.” – stated Andrea Bombardi, Carbon Reduction Excellence, Executive Vice President in RINA – “RINA’s experienced engineers and economists are fully committed in supporting the complete development of the project, from the techno-economic feasibility study to the final deployment and entry into operation in January 2028 ”

H2CRETE is, in fact, focused on large-scale Green H2 production facility of 100 MW, located in Atherinolakos – Crete Island (Greece).

It is worth to underline that Greece is part of the Hydrogen Corridor E – East and South-East Europe designed by European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) and part of the South-Eastern H2 Corridor designed by European Clean Hydrogen Alliance (ECH2A).

Finally, H2CRETE is recognized as “Hydrogen Valley” by Clean Hydrogen Partnership through Mission Innovation Hydrogen Valley Platform. Currently, there are 54 Hydrogen Valleys in EU27 and only 2 in Greece. “With these premises the realization of H2CRETE is extremely strategic not only for Greece but for Europe as a whole” Mr Bombardi concludes.

H2CRETE Valley’s ambition is not only to be a pioneer in Green Hydrogen production but also to become a lighthouse project for the Industry as a whole, generating spillover effects. Thanks to RINA, H2CRETE project will develop pricing modelling, techno-economic analyses & insights, paving the way to the establishment of the European Green Hydrogen Industry.

Open and view a PDF file of the entire H2CRETE Valley project as presented by RINA.