BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Greek green hydrogen project, known as White Dragon, will be connected with the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which currently transports Azerbaijani natural gas to Europe, but is intended also for hydrogen supplies in the future, Trend reports via Balkan Green Energy News.
Gas, oil and construction companies joined forces with research institutions in Greece and foreign partners in the development of the White Dragon.
The White Dragon leans on solar energy for the production of hydrogen. The project involving photovoltaic facilities with an overall capacity of 1.5 GW is estimated to be worth EUR 2.5 billion.
The system is planned to be installed in Western Macedonia, currently Greece’s lignite heartland. The country intends to abandon the use of coal by 2025.
While the White Dragon is based on green hydrogen technology, which means the fuel is produced from water by using electricity from renewable sources, it also envisages the connection with natural gas pipelines. The project is intended for district heating, export via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and for fueling buses and trucks.
The entire investment could be expanded to as much as EUR 4 billion, depending on the size of the solar power plants that would be installed.
TAP will be able to transport 1 billion cubic meters of hydrogen per year.
As the European section of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP has the capacity to transport approximately 10 billion cubic meters of gas per annum (bcm/a) to several markets in Europe. The pipeline is also designed with the potential to expand its throughput capacity up to 20 bcm/a.
As a key part of the Southern Gas Corridor, TAP is strategically and economically important to Europe and essential in providing reliable access to a new source of natural gas. TAP plays a significant role in boosting Europe’s energy security, supply diversification, as well as decarbonisation objectives.
TAP’s shareholding is comprised of bp (20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%).
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