A disused industrial area becomes a cutting-edge hub for green energy. The first Hydrogen Valley in Lombardy is born and a new era begins for Valle Olona, which places energy transition, energy production from renewable sources, territorial regeneration and industrial innovation at the center
One year after the start of work, it officially opens H2Olona Hydrogen Valley, the first Hydrogen Valley in Lombardy open to the free market. Built in the disused area of the former Vita Mayer-Vima paper mill in Cairate and Lonate Ceppino, the project represents one of the most significant Italian industrial regeneration and energy transition interventionstransforming a production site abandoned for decades into a new hub dedicated to the production of renewable energy, green hydrogen and technological innovation.
Today’s inauguration brought together institutions, businesses, experts and stakeholders in a discussion on the prospects of decarbonisation and the role that innovative infrastructures such as the Hydrogen Valley can play in the sustainable development of the country. Among the participants at the event were Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo GiorgettiThe deputy minister of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security Vannia GavaThe general director of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security Stefania CrottatheMEP Isabella Tovaglierithe undersecretary Raffaele Cattaneothe senator Alessandro AlfieriThe president of the Province of Varese Marco Magrini and the mayor of Cairate Anna Puglieseas well as numerous local institutions.
The development manager of H2 Olona Hydrogen Valley illustrated the project during the event Lisa Manieri; project which, conducted by the company specialized in the regeneration and redevelopment of large-scale abandoned areas into sustainable ecosystems Expand, was then at the center of an in-depth round table on the issues of energy production from renewable sources and the future of the Olona Valley. Moderated by the journalist Maurizio Melis of Radio24, the round table saw the participation of Maurizio Ragusa, CEO of Expand, Stefania Crotta, general director of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, Giuseppe Licata, regional councilor, Luigi Galdabini, president of Confindustria Varese, Paolo Mazzucchelli, president of Alfa Varese, Alberto Szakvary member of the Energy working group IDA and Alessio Cogliatibusiness development of LINDE.
A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT FOR THE ENERGY TRANSITION
With a total investment of 23 million eurosof which 11.5 million financed by MASE (Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security) through the PNRR, H2Olona Hydrogen Valley it was carried out in compliance with the timescales established by the PNRR as part of the measure dedicated to the production of hydrogen in disused industrial areas. It represents today a concrete model of integration between environmental sustainability, land recovery and economic development. The intervention is inserted within an area of over 550 thousand square meters and is consistent with the aims and strategies of the European Community in the field of energy transition and regeneration of abandoned industrial sites through the production of renewable energy and the creation of new sustainable industrial ecosystems.
«The challenge of H2 Olona Hydrogen Valley was courageous from an entrepreneurial point of view. Driven by firm determination and concreteness, and thanks to the enlightened commitment of the institutions, it has managed to demonstrate in practice how it is possible to recover and reconvert an abandoned industrial area, transforming it into a new strategic node serving the energy transition” declared Maurizio Ragusa, CEO of Expand. «Through Expand’s working methodology, which brings together public and private, environment and business, past and future, replicable projects can be created, capable of becoming an example for other territories, and of transform regeneration into a real opportunity for socio-economic development for the territory. Not only that. H2Olona Hydrogen Valley was also created with the aim of giving a concrete response to the challenges posed by climate changepromoting sustainable solutions and encouraging behaviors aimed at mitigating and reducing impacts on the environment, cities and ecosystems. The project represents another contribution to the country’s energy transition roadmapwhich plans to reach the 3GW target, with a CAGR of 34%, for the production of green hydrogen in 2030. In particular, the technological figure of the project and the quality of the plants indicate a new direction of work considered very interesting by the participants in the hydrogen supply chain. We also believe that the success of the transition depends on the commitment of all players (from producers to distributors and consumers) to create a system to streamline efforts and propagate data more quickly use cases of thegreen hydrogen in the Italian industry. Likewise, for the community, the project will act as a driving force to give rise to pride in belonging to a place which, thanks to its highly innovative mission, will be able to bring value to citizens and businesses, healing a socio-economic wound which for fifty years has made a large area of the Olona Valley unusable, making it unsafe and full of environmental risk” concluded Ragusa.
THE FIRST HYDROGEN VALLEY IN LOMBARDY IS OPERATIONAL
The heart of the project is the plant for production of green hydrogen powered exclusively by renewable energy. Hydrogen Valley has a 4.5 MW photovoltaic system and a 2 MW electrolyser, capable of producing approximately 107 tons of green hydrogen per year in this first phase, which can be increased a 220 tonnes per year by 2028 and 500 tonnes per year by 2030. An innovative energy platform that contributes to the diffusion of low-emission energy carriers and the decarbonisation of industrial processes and mobility services, laying the foundations for the development of a Lombardy hydrogen supply chain.
A SUSTAINABLE, INTEGRATED AND REPLICABLE MODEL
H2Olona Hydrogen Valley is not just a production plant. It’s also a innovative model of territorial development which integrates renewable energy, circular economy, industrial innovation and attraction of new businesses. The project was born just like sustainable and replicable ecosystemcapable of linking energy production, research, technological infrastructures and environmental sustainability, offering a concrete example of how abandoned industrial areas can become drivers of energy transition and industrial competitiveness. H2Olona Hydrogen Valley is thus a candidate to become one of the most advanced Italian laboratories for the integration of renewable energy, hydrogen, energy storage, digital infrastructures and circular economy, contributing to building a new model of sustainable and competitive industrial development for the territory and for the country.
