According to the company’s website news release on January 25, 2023, Sasol Italy and Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana have met in recent days, at the Augusta plant of Sasol, the main local institutions local institutions and some local associations to present the "Hybla Project". The ambitious initiative aims to build an innovative plant of significant capacity for the production of hydrogen and 'low carbon' syngas also capable of capturing and reusing CO2 which will contribute to the decarbonisation process of the two sites (with a reduction of emissions of around 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per year). During the meeting, attended by the mayors of Augusta and Melilli, Giuseppe Di Mare and Giuseppe Carta, the president of the Port and Sea System Authority of Eastern Sicily Francesco Di Sarcina, and representatives of 'Factory Melilli' and 'La Ginestra Villasmundo', the details of the project were presented.
The initiative reinforces Sicily's central role in the construction of the future hydrogen infrastructure of the European Union. An area that stands out, on the one hand, for its great potential for renewables and, on the other hand, for its strategic location. The launch of a "Sicilian 'hydrogen economy', moreover, will act as a driving force for the relaunch of the entire industrial industry, allowing the development of a value chain that will be able to stimulate various productive sectors and the promotion of a local hydrogen mobility.
The project, realised in collaboration with two leading energy operators, will allow the production of 7800 tons/year of low carbon hydrogen and 25,000 tons/year of low carbon syngas, as well as the "low-carbon syngas, as well as the capture and re-use of CO2, with a reduction of 120,000 tonnes/year of gas emissions.
The initiative represents an extremely important step to accelerate the creation of a Hydrogen Valley in the Sicilian region, with the potential to be among the largest in Italy.
Hydrogen and 'low carbon' syngas, produced with energy from renewable sources, will be used to decarbonise the processes of the two production sites and can also be also be used to meet potential further needs in the area.
