On April 1, 2011 Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo signed the decree of the environmental compatibility of the
construction of a plant for the production of pure hydrogen from natural gas (HMU3) at the Milazzo refinery.

“The project, which intend to use BAT, aims to increase conversion of heavy residues of refinery runs in higher quality and low sulfur content petroleum products, in line with the EU directives for environmental protection” said the ministry.

These results will be achieved, compared to the current production standard, “with a progressive reduction of industrial site emissions, in combination with the recent AIA decision for the refinery issued by Minister Prestigiacomo “said the ministry. The activation of the hydrogen production plant will also provide the consolidation and improvement of employment prospects and company market on the Milazzo area.

Source: Ministero dell’Ambiente, della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare

Description: The Institute of Advanced Energy Technologies “Nicola Giordano”, CNR, in addition to the hydrogen power assisted bicycle, has built a prototype hydrogen bus for urban use.

H-Bus - this is the name of the zero emission vehicle – has a battery/fuel cell hybrid “powertrain”, integrated with a storage system and a hydrogen power system.

At the starting, during normal driving and acceleration phases, the power of the electric motor of the vehicle is provided by the battery and fuel cells. When the need for energy is lower, fuel cells have two important functions: on one hand they contribute to the vehicle propultion, on the other hand they recharge the batteries (even when the bus is stopped). In addition, the vehicle is able to recover kinetic energy during deceleration and braking.

H-Bus is a collaborative effort between CNR ITAE - which deals with the research and testing of the two hybrid prototypes - and the company Sol, which takes care of the construction of the on-board hydrogen storage and power system and the design of the hydrogen fueling station. The company STMicroelectronics, instead, is working on the inverters’ power switches. The final step of the project will be the optimization of the “powertrain” and the assembly of the prototype.

Partners: Istituto di Tecnologie Avanzate per l’Energia “Nicola Giordano” del Cnr, Sol, STMicroelectronics.

Source: Marketing Journal

On 6 February 2010 at the Polo Territoriale Universitario di Trapani  has been presented a project named “Marine Hydrogen for usable and sustainable land energy”, which aims at developing a system for the production, storage and distribution of hydrogen to be used for public transportation buses.
Within the context of innovation and renewable energy projects, the Ministry of Environment has allocated 239,250 euro - amounting to about half of the total cost of the project - to the construction of an experimental facility, consisting of an electric generator which uses the power of waves and a hydrogen production system.
The production plant will be built in Trapani, near the water in front of the Tower of Ligny, an area identified by a study of the University of Palermo which is considered ideal for ocean currents and disruption of surface waters.
The hydrogen gas thus produced will be used by a future fleet of buses for public transportation in the city of Trapani.
The realization of this project will highlight the potential for wave energy production in comparison with other traditional renewables (solar and wind), not only in terms of energy production, but also from the standpoint of environmental and social impact.
“The project – said Antonio D’Alì, Chairman of the Environment Commission and Chairman of the University Consortium of the province of Trapani – will bring a major innovation and will be fully realized in Trapani. I followed the development closely and I believe that it can be applied in inshore areas however small. Might be useful for smaller islands, but also for small coastal towns that may well have a source of nonpolluting energy”.

Source: Hydro2power

Nella Delibera di approvazione della Giunta, con riferimento all’idrogeno è posto inoltre l’obbiettivo di (14) creare le condizioni per lo sviluppo dell’uso dell’idrogeno, come sistema universale di accumulo dell’energia prodotta da fonti rinnovabili discontinue (sole, vento, idroelettrico, geotermia, etc). La Regione intende, in particolare: 
-promuovere lo sviluppo della produzione di idrogeno da fonti rinnovabili, il suo stoccaggio e utilizzazione in applicazioni nelle celle a combustibile attualmente in corso di sperimentazione.
-prevedere, conformemente agli obiettivi e alla normativa comunitaria (REGOLAMENTO (CE) N. 1060/2008), la realizzazione di infrastrutture di produzione di idrogeno da fonti rinnovabili sul territorio regionale, che in una fase intermedia ne consenta l’utilizzazione, per i mezzi di trasporto, in miscela con il metano.

L’Amministrazione Regionale intende esercitare la facoltà di subordinare il rilascio di autorizzazioni per nuove infrastrutture energetiche tradizionali o per la modifica di quelle esistenti [...] alla loro idoneità a fornire flussi energetici ininterrotti, tramite accumulo e stoccaggio dell’idrogeno.

Fonte: Regione Sicilia e Sicilianews24