The winners of the first auction of renewable gases, biomethane, and renewable hydrogen, financed through the Environmental Fund, have committed to a maximum period of 36 months, after the date of granting of the aid, for the first injection of renewable gases into the National Gas System (SNG).
As announced by the Directorate-General for Energy (DGEG), the auction resulted in the award of 1990 MWh/y of biomethane at a price of €62/MWh and 119 280 MWh/y of renewable hydrogen at a price of €127/MWh and will allow the SNG to incorporate the first projects for the production of renewable gases for injection into the SNG, in particular hydrogen.
The auction, worth €140 million, allows long-term contracts for the injection of renewable hydrogen into the Public Gas Network. The quantities of renewable gases fixed in this auction will be purchased by the Wholesale Last Resort Supplier for injection into the transmission and distribution networks, operated by REN and Floene, respectively.
In 2022, REN designed and implemented the H2REN Programme, having achieved certification of all its infrastructures for the transportation, distribution, and storage of hydrogen-gas mixtures in 2024, complying with the decarbonisation objectives defined by the Portuguese Government.
This certification process, carried out by the certifying entity Bureau Veritas that follow the specialist studies carried out between 2022 and 2024, confirmed that, technically and after carrying out a series of adaptations, REN meets the conditions to transport hydrogen and gas mixtures of up to 10% in the National Gas Transmission Network (RNTG) and in the Carriço Underground Storage (AS Carriço), and up to 20% in the National Gas Distribution Network (RNDG) operated by REN Portgás.
In line with EU policies, the decarbonisation of gas infrastructures is one of the strategic objectives of Portuguese energy policy. REN has been permanently contributing, as a public service infrastructure operator, to the operationalisation of this energy transition. Its hydrogen strategy is based on two main pillars: the adaptation of existing infrastructures to accommodate this gas and the development of 100% hydrogen infrastructures to meet the effective needs of this new market.