The first Hydrogen Valley in Lombardy is born in a former industrial area

H2Olona Hydrogen Valley, one year after the start of work, officially inaugurates the first Hydrogen Valley in Lombardy open to the free market.

Built in the disused area of ​​the former Vita Mayer-Vima paper mill in Cairate and Lonate Ceppino, the project represents one of the most significant Italian industrial regeneration and energy transition interventions, transforming a production site abandoned for decades into a new hub dedicated to the production of renewable energy, green hydrogen and technological innovation.

With a total investment of 23 million euros, of which 11.5 million financed by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security through the Pnrr, H2Olona Hydrogen Valley was built in compliance with the timescales established by the national recovery and resilience plan.

The project was carried out by Expand, a company specialized in the regeneration and redevelopment of large-scale brownfield sites into sustainable ecosystems.

The intervention is part of an area of ​​over 550 thousand square meters and is consistent with the aims and strategies of the European Community in the field of energy transition and regeneration of abandoned industrial sites through the production of renewable energy and the creation of new sustainable industrial ecosystems.

The challenge of H2 Olona Hydrogen Valley was "courageous from an entrepreneurial point of view. Driven by firm determination and concreteness, and thanks to the enlightened commitment of the institutions, it managed to demonstrate in practice how it is possible to recover and reconvert an abandoned industrial area, transforming it into a new strategic node at the service of the energy transition", declares Maurizio Ragusa, CEO of Expand.

The heart of the project is the green hydrogen production plant

The heart of the H2Olona Hydrogen Valley project is the plant for the production of green hydrogen powered exclusively by renewable energy.

The Hydrogen Valley has a 4.5 MW photovoltaic system and a 2 MW electrolyser, capable of producing approximately 107 tonnes of green hydrogen per year in this first phase, which can be increased to 220 tonnes per year by 2028 and 500 tonnes per year by 2030.

An innovative energy platform that contributes to the diffusion of low-emission energy carriers and the decarbonisation of industrial processes and mobility services, laying the foundations for the development of a Lombardy hydrogen supply chain.

The inauguration brought together institutions, businesses, experts and stakeholders in a discussion on the prospects of decarbonisation and the role that innovative infrastructures such as the Hydrogen Valley can play in the sustainable development of the country.

H2Olona Hydrogen Valley was also created with the aim of giving a "concrete response to the challenges posed by climate change, promoting sustainable solutions and encouraging behaviors aimed at mitigating and reducing impacts on the environment, cities and ecosystems", concludes Ragusa.