Cingolani, for ecotransition you need blue hydrogen and methane

"In Italy, if we want to start immediately with hydrogen, we must say yes to blue hydrogen (produced from methane, with the underground storage of waste CO2, ed). If we want green hydrogen (produced from water with energy renewable, zero emissions, ed), we immediately need 70 new gigawatts of renewables. Otherwise, we have to find other ways. It is a political choice, the parliament will decide ". This was stated by the minister of ecological transition, Roberto Cingolani, interviewed by Milena Gabanelli on the Corriere della Sera website. "We must get to green hydrogen - said the minister -, but at the moment there is not enough production, because there are not enough renewables. It is not a ready solution". "In Italy we must align ourselves with European policies - continued Cingolani -. In a transitional phase that will last 10 to 15 years, we must move away from coal as soon as possible, develop renewables and hydrogen, and in the meantime use gas. Meanwhile, new technologies could emerge, for example in batteries. But even if we reach the goal of 72% of renewables by 2030, the remaining 28% will be gas. "For the minister," the first sectors to decarbonise are those 'hard to abate': industrial sectors with high emissions, such as steel, ceramics, concrete, textile, paper. Here we must abandon coal and switch to electric ovens powered by energy produced with gas. But this is only a step: if we have electric ovens, later we can feed them with the energy produced by thehydrogen".

"In the Pnrr there is no carbon capture - said Cingolani -. If Eni wants to do it in Ravenna, they will present the project and we will see it. But at the moment there is no plan for CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage , the underground storage of carbon dioxide produced by industrial processes, ed.) If the Norwegians do it, everyone can do carbon capture - added the minister -. There had to be CCS. Then on May 3 Timmermans said that perhaps in the transitional phase it can be done. I hope that there will be no need. If we are good at making renewables, perhaps we should not do it ".

"For renewables we need to simplify the procedures, to return to the installation rate we had until a few years ago. From the current 0.8 gigawatts per year, we must reach 6 - 7 per year - said Cingolani -. last year in Italy 1.8 gigawatts of renewable generation were auctioned. Bids arrived for only 470 megawatts, because companies were scared of bureaucracy. In Spain in the same period they auctioned 3 gigawatts of renewables and they received offers for 9 ".

"In the PNRR there is 1 billion euros for the development of an autonomous Italian supply chain for accumulators and batteries, so as not to have to buy this technology abroad - said the minister -. Then there are a few hundred million for recycling. of electronic waste. It is a public and private process in agreement ".