Lamezia Terme – The first Hydrogen Valley in Southern Italy will be built in Calabria. With the release of the single authorization for the realization of the project, the only one in the whole region, Lamezia Terme will thus find itself hosting the first one built among the 28 sites in southern Italy (for a total of 54 in the national territory) identified by the Government to be financed as part of the Pnrr for the development of the hydrogen supply chain in the South. Development and redemption.
The “Hydrogen Valley Lamezia Terme” project will in fact be built in the abandoned area of the former Sir, where lies an industrial dream that never took off. The project, proposed by Teca Gas Srl, was designed and engineered by Techfem, a vibrant reality in the heart of the Marche but also operational in Calabria, a true vanguard of the sector, strong in international experience and collaborations. The Lamezia headquarters, where around 60 of Techfem’s 320 highly specialized technicians already work, has for years started a close collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Calabria which has allowed young talents to train and find work in their own region rather than moving to the northern Italy or abroad. The Lamezia plant will produce hydrogen (2MW), will have storage and compression areas (up to 220 barg), will be powered by a 461 kW photovoltaic park and will also have a loading bay available for filling cylinder trailers to transport hydrogen. Teca Gas, which already deals with LPG bottling, will expand its range of action: the ambitious objective of the project is to promote the local production and use of hydrogen in industry and transport, giving life to the hydrogen valley model, already developed in some European Union countries.
This initiative – explains Federico Ferrini, CEO of Techfem – represents a significant step towards the ecological transition and sustainable development of the region. I believe it is an important milestone that places Calabria at the forefront in the development of renewable energy and in the promotion of sustainable and innovative energy solutions”. Echoing him, engineer Pasquale Rocca, of Teca Gas: “This project undoubtedly marks a important phase for our territory and we can only be extremely proud to take part in this small but great revolution”. The plant will be put into service by 30 June 2026 and constitutes one of the relevant projects of the 2024-2026 Industrial Plan of Techfem and which foresees an increase in employment of a further 50 people only in the Lamezia Terme headquarters. The project is financed under the PNRR – Mission 2 “Green revolution and ecological transition”, Component 2 “Renewable energy, hydrogen, grid and sustainable mobility”, investment 3.1 “Production in disused industrial areas”. This investment is supported by the European Union – NEXT Generation EU, using the resources referred to in the executive decree of the Calabria Region n.73 of 01/05/2023. Despite the initial success of Teca and Techfem, the transition to the hydrogen economy is complex. In Italy, companies face difficulties in obtaining authorizations to build plants and refueling stations due to an uncertain regulatory framework. This regulatory uncertainty, both at a national and local level, slows down times and increases the risk of delays in projects, compromising the timetables envisaged by the PNRR.
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