The infrastructures
And in this revolution that aims to decarbonise energy-hungry people, the so-called infrastructure can only play an important role. That is, the network in which the entire system will then have to travel. One aspect, in the words of Cosma Panzacchi, Snam’s EVP Hydrogen Business Unit “has become increasingly important”. With one goal: «To transport hydrogen at low cost. To be competitive, it must cost between 2 and 4 euros per kilo. If it is produced on a large scale and transported in efficient structures, 0.1 euro per kilo per 1000 kilometers ». On the same wavelength also Paolo Gallo, CEO of Italgas according to whom “the infrastructures must be ready not only to increase imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), but also to manage different gases, from biomethane to hydrogen: and the operators are preparing for this scenario by launching experiments ». Renato Boero, President of Iren, also focuses on the networks, underlining that by 2035 “we will be using hydrogen for all our networks because it is the vector of the future”.
The cost issue
As for the cost aspect “it can be solved by lowering that of the Capex but above all by working on renewables”. Furthermore, as Renato Mazzoncini, CEO of A2A, argues, “the European taxonomy must shed light on the issue of hydrogen: regulatory uncertainties have a direct impact on investments, and on the possibility of creating a real market”.
Between sources and storage
In the game for the production of hydrogen, gases and the question of storage play an important role. It is no coincidence that Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director Maire Tecnimont focuses attention on the need to «diversify sources and free ourselves from Russian gas». For the manager it is necessary to “push the accelerator on some gas, biogas and synthetic gases”. With a focus on synthetic gases that can be obtained from the processing of dry waste. “In Italy we have to run by bridging the gap on the cost of energy”. The real emergency of the energy sector, according to Daniela Gentile, CEO of Ansaldo Green Tech, is represented by storage: “Just to achieve the objectives we have set for 2030, it will be necessary to double the amount of energy produced by photovoltaics and quintuple that deriving from wind power, but above all we need a storage capacity 15 times higher than the current one. We absolutely must create systems that are able to receive energy produced from renewable sources without throwing it away ».
Too long times
In the journey towards the energy transition, companies then clash with authorization issues and with times that are expanding in an important way. It is no coincidence that Giovanni Brianza, CEO of Edison Energy Services, underlines the need to “speed up the entire blocked authorization process” and the need for “a regulatory reference set in stone. We have many projects on the field but we are waiting to understand what the rules of the game are but we don’t know how to play ». Stefano Erba, Head of Strategic Planning and Development Fnm, is of the same opinion, who, underlining the importance of the hydrogen challenge, hopes for «resources to finance the differential in operating costs. It is okay to support investments but it is also necessary to support those who decide to make a choice of this type of change during the operating phase “.
Some difficulties
And to travel between opportunities and difficulties is the study illustrated by Gianluca Marini, Executive Vice President Consulting Division CESI on the risks and difficulties deriving from the impact of the energy transition. «We are within a regulatory framework that is very slow. We are very slow in implementing and succeeding in creating regulatory frameworks that can be easily integrated by sector operators. In addition to the regulatory theme, there is also the technological one “. Which concerns the construction system of electrolysers which “are not a mature technology, in the sense that the winning technology has not yet been determined”.