Snam, through its subsidiary Renovit and SAGAT Spa, the Turin airport management company, have entered into an agreement to build the first “hydrogen ready” fuel cell, which will be built at Turin airport.
The cell fuel, the first in Italy both in terms of type and size, will be able to be fueled with variable percentages of hydrogen mixed with natural gas and will be able to generate thermal and electrical energy at the same time. It will be installed in the second quarter of 2023 in theTurin airport, which in doing so will be the first in Italy to use a solution of this type.
The system fuel cell it is capable of generating up to 1,2 MWh of electricity and 840 kWh of thermal energy in one hour and can be fueled with hydrogen mixed with natural gas, up to 40% of its volume. Fueling the cell with hydrogen and biomethane would allow for a greater reduction in climate-changing emissions.
Compared to the generation currently used, according to the two companies, the implementation of the fuel cell powered by natural gas would allow a savings in CO emissions2 equal to 1.630 tons per year and the almost total elimination of particulate emissions.
The cell custody agreement, which will amount to approx 14 million euro, will allow the airport to meet its standards of efficiency and environmental sustainability and will provide an important aid in achieving the goal of reducing net emissions by 2050.
“Hydrogen – said Marco Alverà, CEO of Snam – will play a key role in pursuing the goal of net zero emissions in many sectors, including airport and port infrastructures. With this agreement, we are providing Turin airport with an effective and innovative energy solution capable of immediately reducing emissions and integrating increasing quantities of hydrogen to achieve carbon neutrality.
The managing director of Turin Airport, Andrea Adorno, commented on the agreement as follows: "The implementation of this solution represents the flagship project of our Torino Green Airport sustainability programme, announced last July and which brings together all the sustainability initiatives of the airport, aimed at reducing consumption and of environmental emissions, confirming our concrete commitment in this direction. In Snam we have found the right partner for the realization of an innovative project, which immediately contributes to the creation of the demand for clean energy such as hydrogen and other gaseous vectors from certified renewable sources, a fundamental step to concretely start the country's energy transition. Furthermore, this project will allow us to bring forward our goal of zero emissions compared to 2050.”
