Hydrogen will play a key role in supporting the energy transition and reducing CO2 emissions in our economy. Alpiq is developing projects for producing green hydrogen and e-fuels in Switzerland and across Europe, which will contribute to promoting decarbonisation in industrial sectors and in heavy goods transport.
Hydrogen and e-fuels projects in Switzerland and other European countries
In Switzerland
In Freienbach in the Canton of Schwyz, Alpiq is involved in the H2 project of Hydrogen Höfe Freienbach AG. In collaboration with EW Höfe, SOCAR Energy Switzerland and CIME Capital, the partners are planning what is currently one of Switzerland's largest green hydrogen production plants with a capacity of up to 10 MW. The facility should be able to produce up to around 1,200 tonnes of hydrogen per year. The plant is supplied exclusively with electricity from renewable sources via the public grid and therefore produces climate-neutral ("green") hydrogen. In heavy goods transport, it will be possible to supply up to 200 fuel cell electric lorries. This will avoid greenhouse gas emissions of around 14,000 tonnes of CO2 per year compared to the use of diesel lorries. In addition, hydrogen is to be fed into the natural gas grid and waste heat into the newly created regional district heating network.
In Gerlafingen in the canton of Solothurn, Alpiq is planning to team up with Stahl Gerlafingen to develop a production facility for green hydrogen that is set to be one of the largest in Switzerland. The electrolysis plant with a capacity of up to 30 MW is earmarked for construction directly on the site of Stahl Gerlafingen, and will provide up to 4,700 tonnes of green hydrogen per year upon completion from 2027 at the earliest. The steelworks can then use part of this green hydrogen for environmentally friendly, carbon-neutral production. The up to 29,000 tonnes of oxygen produced each year represents an important additional step on the path towards decarbonisation. Possibilities are being considered of using the waste heat from the plant to provide up to 3,000 households in the surrounding area with heat via a district heating network that is currently in planning. This in turn will lead to improvements in their energy efficiency.
In other European countries
In Finland, Alpiq acquired a majority share of the Finnish hydrogen pioneer P2X Solutions, which is headquartered in Espoo, in April 2024. P2X Solutions gives Alpiq a platform to produce green hydrogen and Power-to-X, and also to expand beyond Finland. P2X Solutions is constructing the first industrial-scale green hydrogen production facility in Finland, in the southwestern town of Harjavalta. The facility is scheduled to be operational in early 2025. It has an installed electrolysis capacity of 20 MW, making it one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The facility in Harjavalta can also produce synthetic methane from hydrogen and locally available CO2. Further projects focus on the production of e-methanol – an important step on the path to CO2-free shipping.
In France, Alpiq has established the joint venture “HyMove” together with IntHy, which offers its customers and partners a logistics offering for transporting low-carbon hydrogen from the production facilities to the consumer sites. “HyMove” cooperates with the international chemical company INEOS Inovyn as part of the joint project “ReadHy to Move”, with the aim of furthering the progress of emission-free heavy goods transport in eastern France through the use of hydrogen. The project is expected to become operational in 2026. In the Occitania region in the south of France, the joint venture “HyWay Occitanie” provides a complete service for carbon-free mobility that is based on the use of renewable hydrogen and is specially tailored to the requirements of the transport and logistics sector. Alpiq is also developing other large-scale facilities for green hydrogen in France, with the aim of decarbonising the industrial sector.
In Italy, Alpiq has teamed up with San Marco Petroli and Sinloc in the “H2 Laguna” project for developing an ecosystem for green hydrogen in the Venezia region in northern Italy. The partners are assessing the feasibility of a 10 MW electrolyser plant. The project aims to provide hydrogen to regional transport companies that will use trucks with hydrogen fuel cells, and also for the decarbonisation of water-based transportation in the Venetian Lagoon.
In Spain, Alpiq has drawn up a strategic partnership agreement with Campillo Palmera and Ecoinversol for the development of green hydrogen in the industrial centre of Molina de Segura, Murcia. With this cooperation, a sustainable pioneering project is being developed in the freight transport sector that should then be extended to industrial applications in order to strengthen the local economy in Molina de Segura and the Murcia region. The “H2 Murcia” project consists of an electrolyser with a capacity of 10 MW that is supplied with power from its own photovoltaic plant. Additionally, Alpiq is developing other large-scale facilities for green hydrogen in Spain in order to utilise the abundant green electricity profitably, and is also working on e-fuels projects.