1st of June 2023 was the official start date for the GreenH2CY Project, which according to Project Coordinator Ketonis Holdings Ltd, is the first project in Cyprus which was approved for funding from the European Commission’s Innovation Fund. The project GreenH2CY is expected to be finalised by 31 August 2028. The beneficiary of the project is MCK Future Fuels Ltd and the Associated Partners the A. Zorpas & Sons Ltd and Evergy Ltd.
The GreenH2CY project is the first-of-its-kind in Cyprus and will serve as an important step towards establishing the hydrogen economy in the country. The project contributes to greenhouse gas emission reduction targets while promoting decarbonisation in the transport sector.
Cyprus is an isolated electricity network and lacks the necessary storage facilities or interconnections with other networks to store renewable electricity, notably at times of low demand and high production. Currently, this excess electricity is curtailed and discarded. Flexible hydrogen production during those hours using an electrolyser which runs off the excess renewable electricity, combined with a hydrogen storage facility can provide an innovative solution to energy storage and distribution to address this challenge.
The GreenH2CY project includes the installation and operation of a 2 MW Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) electrolyser, a hydrogen storage facility and a re-fuelling station in the same location. The hydrogen plant is expected to produce approximately 150 tonnes of hydrogen fuel per year. This is equivalent to 627 tonnes of diesel fuel per year. The project will avoid 21 677 tonnes CO2 equivalent of greenhouse gas emissions during its first ten years of operation, attributed to the replacement of diesel fuel.
The water used in the electrolyser will be supplied from tertiary treatment of wastewater from the Water Development Department of Larnaca, and thus contributing to circular economy actions.
For the first step, the green hydrogen fuel produced by the GreenH2CY project will be used in the mobility sector, and more specifically for light and heavy trucks in order to replace fossil-fuels based vehicles. Due to an abundance of renewable energy, there is significant potential to produce green hydrogen in large quantities to use in both the mobility/transport sector (e.g. coaches, buses, saloon cars) and in the maritime sector (ports and marinas).
This pilot project will create crucial understanding and experience in the generation, distribution and use of green hydrogen, thus contributing to the acceptance of hydrogen as a reliable and sustainable form of alternative fuel in Cyprus.
* Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
