‘First concrete results’ in sight for green hydrogen project in Atlantic area ports

Ports in the Atlantic area are one step closer to deploying and using green hydrogen-based technologies through the HYDEA project with a new interactive map containing information on main initiatives and most promising hydrogen applications and opportunities.

Launched in November 2023 by the consortium of partners from public and private entities from Spain, France, Ireland, and Portugal, the HYDEA project is led by the EnergyLab Technology Center and funded by the Interreg Atlantic Area 2021-2027 program.

The three-year project with a budget of €3.43 million aims to accelerate the deployment and the use of green hydrogen-based technologies in an integrated way with marine and other renewable energies in Atlantic area ports.

The partners have now presented “first concrete results” and created an interactive map of the main hydrogen initiatives in the Atlantic area ports, identifying the most promising hydrogen applications, bottlenecks, and opportunities in ports of Brest, Leixões, Vigo, and Seville.

The map serves to locate the main projects, their characteristics, and the partners that compose them by offering a complete vision of the role that ports are taking in the hydrogen economy and a vision of the project models that are being carried out.

As explained, the information on this map is completed throughout the project with partners’ searches, but also with information coming from promoters who want to make their respective projects more visible.

The first step was to identify the most promising green hydrogen technologies and applications, based on statistical analysis of the literature considering critical aspects like cost, energy efficiency, and decarbonization effects.

The next step was to describe the main technical, economic, social, and regulatory bottlenecks to the implementation of hydrogen-based infrastructures in ports in the study regions.

Then, a study was carried out to identify opportunities for the development of the hydrogen economy in ports of Brest, Leixões, Vigo, and Seville, considering their reliance on the hydrogen value chains.

The HYDEA project consortium gathers four ports (Port Authority of Vigo, Port Authority of Seville, Brest Brittany Port Company and Administration of the Ports of Douro, Leixões, and Viana do Castelo), a technology center (France Energies Marines), two universities (University of Galway and University of Porto), and three companies (Hive Hydrogen, Automotive Synergy Evolution, and Energy Observer Developments).