Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1395902
4 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 JULY 2021 NEWS These Primary State School Libraries will open for their students between 12th July and 3rd September 2021 from 08:30 to 12:30 on the following days: OPENING HOURS - PRIMARY SCHOOLS Aqra fis-Sajf 2021 Campaign Gozo College: Sannat Primary - Tue, Thurs (09:00 - 12:00) Victoria Primary - Mon, Wed Maria Regina College: Mellieħa Primary - Tue, Thurs Mellieħa Primary (Public Library) - Wed St Benedict College: Żurrieq Primary - Mon, Wed St Clare College: Pembroke Primary - Fri St George Preca College: Valletta Primary - Mon, Wed St Ignatius College: Qormi Primary (St Sebastian) - Tue St Nicholas College: Siġġiewi Primary - Mon St Thomas More College: Marsaxlokk Primary - Wed Students must pre-select the books they would like to borrow using the online catalogue ahead of their library visit. The catalogue is available on the Malta Libraries website www.maltalibraries.gov.mt Students, especially those whose schools are not offering the service, are also encouraged to make use of public libraries available across Malta and Gozo. Further information on the Aqra fis-Sajf campaign may be found on www.facebook.com/aqrafissajf/ or by calling 2598 3302. JAMES DEBONO MALTA'S prospects of devel- oping a €400 million 'hydrogen ready' pipeline are linked to a pilot project by Italian energy gi- ants ENI and ENEL to produce green hydrogen from renewable energy sources in Gela, Malta- Today has learned. A spokesperson for the en- ergy ministry did not give any details on how the hydrogen will be sourced by Malta for its prospected pipeline – which could qualify for EU funds – but confirmed that the "next step is to study the availability of hydrogen in the vicinity and determine the necessary infra- structure to deliver it to Mal- ta." Gela in Sicily is already the site of ENI's bio-refinery, where "grey" hydrogen is used to pro- duce biofuels. The town is still reeling from the closure of its petro-chemical plants built in the 1960s and is increasing- ly dependent on ENI's energy investments – energy-hungry Malta may well end up boost- ing the town's economy. The prospect of securing EU funds for a hydrogen-ready pipeline were boosted after energy minister Miriam Dalli secured a derogation in 2021 to have Malta's gas pipeline, which lost out on the funding, be once again in with a chance as an EU project of common interest. This may enable Malta to proceed with its plans for a gas pipeline to Gela which would eventually be used to transport hydrogen. When quizzed by MaltaTo- day, the ministry did not give specific details on how Malta will access the "green" hydro- gen market, recognizing that the technology is in fact still in its infancy, though promising. "Although green hydrogen is still an emerging technology, it is expected to develop at a fast pace," a spokesperson for Dalli said. The next step is studying "the availability of green hy- drogen in Malta's vicinity in order to determine the neces- sary infrastructure to deliver it to Malta". Ministry officials have tagged the project cost at some €400 million, but this estimate may vary "depending on the price of metals at the time of construc- tion". Malta will collaborate with Italy as the host country of the sending terminal station. ENI currently uses hydrogen for making hydrotreated vege- table oil (HVO) biofuels in its Venice and Gela biorefineries. Most of its hydrogen is gener- ated through steam methane reforming (SMR), which is con- sidered to be a grey hydrogen. In December 2021, ENI and Enel announced they were working together to devel- op green hydrogen projects through electrolyzers that are powered by renewable energy. The electrolyzers will be locat- ed near Eni refineries in Taran- to and Gela. In Gela, ENI plans to comple- ment existing plants using grey and blue hydrogen, with green hydrogen to explore how these can "interact and integrate with each other". Only in May, Enel Green Pow- er's gead of hydrogen business Paola Brunetto acknowledged that green hydrogen was more expensive to produce than grey hydrogen, and that the emer- gence of a green hydrogen market depends on public in- centives. Green vs grey hydrogen Unlike grey hydrogen, which is produced by using fossil fu- els, and blue hydrogen which relies on expensive and unrelia- ble carbon capture and storage technology, green hydrogen, the option being considered by Malta, is produced by electrol- ysis: the use of electricity from renewable energy sources, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Presently on a global level, on- ly around 2% of global hydro- gen production is from elec- trolysis, with most hydrogen made directly from fossil fuels like lignite, coal and methane. Environmentalists are gener- ally wary of the new technolo- gy, fearing that this could pro- long the dependence on fossil fuels, but energy companies have hailed it as the energy of the future. According to a PWC analy- sis of global energy markets, production costs will decrease over time, due to continuous- ly falling renewable energy production costs, economies of scale, lessons from projects underway and technological advances. "As a result, green hydrogen will become more economical. The challenge is anticipating those trends and acting in time," PWC says, forecasting demand for green hydrogen to accelerate from 2035 onwards. And although indications show that green hydrogen will become more affordable in the future as renewable energy be- comes even cheaper, at present it remains more costly than hy- drogen produced from natural gas, and relatively inefficient when compared to other ener- gy sources. Governments promises investment in offshore renewables But allaying fears that hydro- gen could divert interest from solar and wind energy, Dalli insists that hydrogen is being seen as complementary to a greater investment in large- scale offshore renewable ener- gy plants and the second inter- connector. "In line with Malta's green- house gas emissions reduction obligations and our ultimate aim of decarbonisation, gov- ernment is committed to con- tinue to increase the share of renewable energy," a spokes- person told MaltaToday. To achieve these targets, a number of investments are be- ing planned in large-scale and offshore renewable energy pro- ject. But in order to cope with variations in the supply of wind or solar energy and ensure con- tinuity of service to consumers, "a strong grid is essential". In the government's evolv- ing energy policy, the second interconnector is pivotal in meeting ever-increasing energy demands from rising econom- ic growth and increased con- sumption. It will also ensure security of supply and deliver a stronger connection with the European grid. When asked why Malta is not limiting itself to energy-de- rived renewables and the inter- connector, the energy ministry insists this plan "needs to be complemented with local gen- eration and access to new fuel markets". Dalli's ministry also said the derogation from the EU ensur- ing that Malta's gas pipeline – now hydrogen-ready – be new- ly recognised as a Project of Common Interest, has "opened the door for Malta to access new technologies, particular- ly green hydrogen originating from renewable sources". But of note is the fact that Malta's LNG gas pipeline fell at the last milestone when the new Von der Leyen Commis- sion decided to change tack on energy policies, favouring hy- drogen over fossil fuels. FOE sceptical on hydrogen plans Environmental NGO Friends of Earth Malta is wary of a hy- drogen-ready pipeline, fearing that this could prolong de- pendency on fossil fuels. ENI's plans for a pilot project for 'green hydrogen' in Gela is the gateway to a proposed gas pipeline Malta hopes will win EU funding Pipeline plans: Malta studying 'availability' of hydrogen from Sicily