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Green hydrogen: how can it help decarbonise industry?

Green hydrogen: how can it help decarbonise industry?

Business

Green hydrogen is often presented as a technology of the future. But this transformation has already begun and promises to help decarbonise some of the sectors that are hardest to electrify, such as industry and transport.

There is a molecule that is currently attracting a great deal of attention, but which has been working behind the scenes of industry for much longer than most people realise. It is called hydrogen. Today, it is considered one of the key enablers of the energy transition. The major change is not in the molecule itself, but in the way it is produced.

It is this evolution that makes green hydrogen one of the most promising technologies for reducing industrial emissions and producing lower-carbon fuels.

What Exactly Is Green Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is the most abundant chemical element in the universe, but it is rarely found in isolation in nature. To be used, it must be separated from other molecules. There are several ways to produce it.

The most common method uses natural gas. This process, known as grey hydrogen production, remains the most widely used worldwide, but it results in carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

Green hydrogen, on the other hand, is produced using water and electricity generated from renewable sources, significantly reducing these emissions.

 

Why Does a Refinery Need Hydrogen?

Hydrogen is already an integral part of a refinery's day-to-day operations. It is used in various industrial processes that transform crude oil into fuels that meet today's specifications, helping, for example, to remove impurities and improve the quality of final products.

The Sines Refinery is the largest producer and consumer of hydrogen in Portugal. The refinery has used hydrogen since it began operations in 1978 and is today the country's largest producer and consumer of this molecule.

Currently, hydrogen is produced mainly from natural gas, a process that accounts for between 20% and 25% of the refinery's total emissions. By progressively replacing it with green hydrogen, it will be possible to significantly reduce these emissions without changing the role hydrogen plays in the industrial process.

What Will the Green Hydrogen Produced in Sines Be Used For?
What Will the Green Hydrogen Produced in Sines Be Used For?

In an initial phase, it will replace part of the hydrogen currently produced from natural gas and used in refining processes. This change is expected to reduce CO₂ emissions by around 110,000 tonnes per year.

Green hydrogen may also be used to supply Galp's future biofuels unit, where it will help produce renewable fuels such as HVO (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) and SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), aimed at sectors where electrification continues to be challenging, such as aviation.

As the hydrogen economy evolves, it may also supply other industrial facilities in the region and future hydrogen mobility infrastructure, helping to expand the use of this technology.

Ultimately, the green hydrogen produced in Sines has a broader mission: helping to decarbonise industry and transport, two of the sectors that are most difficult to electrify.

Sines: A Refinery in Transformation

Galp is building a 100 MW electrolysis unit, one of the largest in Europe, capable of producing around 15,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year. The investment amounts to approximately €250 million and forms part of a broader €650 million renewable fuels project. Operations are expected to begin in the second half of 2026.

Once operational, the new unit will enable the replacement of approximately 20% to 25% of the refinery's current grey hydrogen consumption. The objective is to integrate green hydrogen into a refinery that continues to adapt to evolving energy needs.