The municipality of Razgrad in northeastern Bulgaria intends to construct an industrial zone that will utilize solar-produced hydrogen.
Already, bids have been solicited for the development of an investment idea for the “hydrogen industrial zone.”
According to the European Union Hydrogen Strategy, the hydrogen industrial zone proposal included the building of a 25 MW solar power plant that would provide green energy for a 10 MW hydrogen electrolyzer that would create an estimated 714 tons of clean hydrogen per year.
The objective is to investigate methods for revamping existing pipes in order to inject hydrogen and partially replace the gas utilized in industrial zones. The hydrogen might also be delivered compressed for other industrial or municipal requirements, and the authorities are considering constructing a hydrogen charging station on a nearby road.
The project is anticipated to result in annual energy savings of 3,000 GWh, while its annual renewable energy production is projected at 33,000 GWh.
The European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, which was established by the European Commission in 2020 in an effort to accelerate the decarbonization of the EU’s industrial sector, has given its strong support to the facility’s conceptual design.
The development of the investment concept for the Razgrad project, which entails identifying investors and defining an investment roadmap, will be funded by a grant of EUR 60,000 from the European City Facility (EUCF), an initiative assisting local governments across Europe to accelerate investments in sustainable energy.