The visit came as part of a country-wide tour of 51 organisations that were approved for funding through Component 5 (C-05), Portugal’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan.
Fusion Fuel previously announced that its consortium, the Sine Green Hydrogen Valley Alliance, had been approved for €36m ($38.6m), of which €22.5m ($24.1m) was set to be allocated to Fusion Fuel’s H2 HEVO-SINE project to install 3,000 HEVO-Solar electrolysers.
Read more: €36m grant boosts Fusion Fuel’s Portuguese green hydrogen plans
Joining Prime Minister Costa were Carlos Coutinho, Mayor of Benavente, Pedro Cilínio, Secretary of State for Economy, Ana Fontoura Gouveia, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate, along with representatives from the Portuguese Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (IAPMEI).
H2 View understands the delegation had a tour of the facility, including its HEVO micro-electrolyser production lines, led by Fusion Fuel’s executive team.
Read more: Fusion Fuel’s decentralised, scalable solar-to-hydrogen solution
The tour was followed by an institutional event for the Sines Green Hydrogen Valley Alliance, which saw speeches from the Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Economy, and Pedro Caçorino Dias, Head of Portugal at Fusion Fuel.
The event concluded with a ceremony formally recognising the approval of the Sines Green Hydrogen Valley Alliance for C-05 funding.
Prime Minister Costa, said, “The national economy continues to develop with a bet on reindustrialisation and this example, of Fusion Fuel, is an excellent example of reindustrialisation of the country. We have here a facility that was closed ten years ago and that today is in activity; that once produced metallic structures for civil construction and now produces highly innovative technology for the production of green hydrogen.”
In 2021 Portugal made commitments to develop a hydrogen economy, having signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Read more: Portugal eyes a hydrogen-fuelled future
“It was a great honour to welcome the Prime Minister and members of his cabinet to our world-class electrolyser factory in Benaventa and introduce the ground-breaking work underway here,” said Pedro Caçorino Dias.
He added, “While we are moving quickly to establish a footprint in strategic markets worldwide, Portugal remains a core market and we remain committed to championing Portugal’s green hydrogen ambitions.”
Did you know H2 View is recognised as an official partner of the Hydrogen Council?
This means we get exclusive columns, interviews and studies that you won’t find anywhere else. Along with our featured webinars and events, H2 View is the go to global platform for the hydrogen industry.
Become a subscriber today to make sure you don’t miss out. Already a subscriber? Log in here.