IPCEI Hy2Use will provide joint venture South Italy Green Hydrogen with up to €5.2 billion to fund two green hydrogen projects, Eni announced in a press release on Oct. 13.

Comprised of Italian energy companies Eni and Enel Green Power, the joint venture will use the funds to advance the decarbonization of refineries in both Italy and Canada.

A 20-MW electrolyzer will be installed at an Eni biorefinery in Gela, Sicily, while a 10-MW electrolyzer will be installed near an Eni refinery in the Apulia region of Taranto, both of which will use polymer electrolyte membrane technology to implement decarbonization processes at the plants.

“In order to tackle the challenges of energy transition as effectively as possible in such diverse and complex economies and industries, it is essential to use all available technologies to decarbonize the many different emissions sources,” Eni COO of Energy Evolution Giuseppe Ricci said in the release.

“Hydrogen is one of the many paths that Eni is taking, and we are very pleased that these projects with Enel were shortlisted by the European Union as part of IPCEI Hy2Use, which is such an important EU project,” he continued.

Comprised of 13 EU member states, the IPCEI Hy2Use project allocated funds to support facets of the hydrogen value chain, including research and innovation, construction and first industrial application.

Additional future agreements between the two companies will be finalized in compliance with applicable regulations following the deployment of the two electrolysis projects.

“We are proud that these projects have been shortlisted by the European Union as part of the prestigious IPCEI Hy2Use,” Enel Green Power CEO Salvatore Bernabei commented. “The two initiatives, in collaboration with Eni, represent an important step for the construction of utility-scale electrolysis facilities, allowing us to test and accelerate the development of the entire supply chain for the production of green hydrogen in Europe.”

In addition to the two projects, both joint venture companies have recently worked to advance green hydrogen use globally, with Enel Group involved in several projects in Spain, Chile and the U.S. and the opening of Eni's hydrogen station in Mestre, Italy, in June 2022.