Three of the plants will be built in Italy, and the other two will be sited in Albania and Morocco, in the Mediterranean basin. The latter plant will use the green hydrogen to produce ammonia.

“The agreement with Alboran Hydrogen consolidates Saipem's position as a leading player in the energy transition and decarbonization and is an important step ahead for the future development of green hydrogen in Italy and in the Mediterranean basin, said Maurizio Coratella, chief operating officer of Saipem's onshore E&C Division. Coratella added that, in the coming decades, the technology will represent “the new horizon of the energy evolution.”

Among the possible initiatives identified in Italy, the partners are proposing to create a green hydrogen hub in Puglia by building the three plants in Brindisi, Taranto and Foggia. This would be done with the participation of the National Energy Technology District, La Sapienza University, the Salento University and the Brindisi Research Center.

 Saipem said the initiative fits within the objectives set by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which aims to support economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. The engineering firm will provide its expertise on engineering, procurement and construction, while Alboran will coordinate technological aspects with research institutes as well as undertaking permitting activities and supply chain agreements.

Alboran Hydrogen is part of Italian investment group Alboran Invest, which has an interest in developing renewable energy.

Saipem links with Elkem on CO₂  project

Separately, Saipem said it has agreed with Norway’s Elkem to evaluate new opportunities in CO₂ capture and storage in a project supported and funded by the Norwegian government.

The companies will assess and identify possible development plans and design solutions for a CO₂ capture plant that is also equipped with liquefaction processes and facilities for shipping the CO₂ collected by the Northern Lights project. Saipem has already completed a feasibility study on the subsea transport of CO₂ for the project supported.

Equinor, Shell and Total are partners in Northern Lights, which will transport, inject and store up to 1.5 million t/y CO₂ in a first phase to be operational in 2024.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist