The 500kW solar-powered plant in Sestu, Sardinia, is designed to produce around 21 tonnes of hydrogen annually, with output expected to increase to 70 tonnes per year by 2028.

In Sestu, the produced hydrogen is blended with natural gas and piped into the local gas grid to power households and small businesses. Additionally, it’s set to power a fleet of buses and supply the production process of a local dairy industry.

Project Hyround represents a €15m ($16.3m) investment, including €1.5m ($1.6m) from Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) to fund an associated hydrogen refuelling station.

“Hyround confirms the central role of renewable gases and gas distribution networks as key elements of the energy transition,” claimed Italgas Reti CEO, Paolo Gallo.

“Sardinia stands as a tangible example of this vision of the energy future – a future built on state-of-the-art gas networks, capable of accommodating renewable gases and complementing electricity grids on the path to Net Zero by 2050.”

Other European pilots have conducted small-scale demonstrations or limited trials using hydrogen blends of 1–20%.

However, Hyround is positioned as the first permanent, full-chain project in Italy that integrates production, blending, transport, and end-use across residential, industrial, and mobility sectors simultaneously.