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hydrogen valley

VISION – GOALS - CHALLENGES

The Crete Aegea Hydrogen Valley of Crete (CRAVE H2) includes the development and operation of innovative hydrogen technologies in the island of Crete and covers the entire hydrogen value chain. The aim is to make hydrogen a vital medium on the island of Crete in order to reduce the use of polluting and externally imported fossil resources. Particular emphasis will be placed on the safe use of hydrogen on a large scale and on the social and environmental impact of the European project on the local community. The employment opportunities, as well as the environmental and health benefits for the island of Crete will be thoroughly explored and optimized.

Vision

CRAVE-H2 constitutes a substantial financial investment and covers all necessary steps in the hydrogen value chain, from production (securing dedicated renewable electricity production from the 582 MW Aigaio project) to subsequent high-pressure storage & distribution to a hydrogen filling station and other potential off-takers. The Cretan-Aegean hydrogen valley has already been initiated and bears the full support of the regional authorities that pursue the transition to a "hydrogen economy”.

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The challenges are to: Design, Permit, Build, Operate & Trade the hydrogen economy elements for the first commercial hydrogen use in Greece.

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The big picture

CRAVE-H2 is paramount in order to pilot the hydrogen market in Crete and Greece, and is located in a strategic location, where  the leading partner EUNICE is developing the first Greek (European) African electricity distribution interconnection, allowing for cheap PV power to be introduced into the Greek (and via that to the European) electricity and hydrogen market. The location of the main hydrogen production is the port of Atherinolakos (in the southeastern part of Crete) and will allow the future deployment of hydrogen ship transportation as well as its use as maritime fuel. The scope of this topic is to develop, deploy and demonstrate a hydrogen valley, with the objective of also increasing its capacity in the future.
• Create the 1st Green Hydrogen hub in Greece at the Atherinolakos Area
• Initiate the offtake for Green electricity imports from the GAP Interconnector

h2 crete valley concept

The main assets of the valley are:

 

  • Alkaline Electrolyser with maximum production of 500 tons/year H2

  • PEM Fuel Cell: 0.4 MWel, which will consume 100 tons of hydrogen and act as powerful daily/weekly energy storage tool

  • Hydrogen buses and additional vehicles

  • Re-use of water produced from the FC to partially cover the electrolyser requirements and increase circularity 

  • All required AC/DC rectifier and DC/AC converters

  • A painstaking study of potential further H2 uses in power plants, industry and maritime applications across the island of Crete

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