When the last heavy oil power plant was turned off in Malta in 2017, the power plants switched to natural gas, which is a much cleaner fuel but still emits CO2 when burnt for electricity.

In 2021, Malta used around 71 per cent natural gas to produce electricity, while almost 21 per cent of electricity was imported from the EU through the Malta-Italy interconnector.

Malta gets its natural gas by importing LNG which is stored in LNG tankers. Unfortunately, when Storm Helios hit the islands last February, the LNG tanker had to be repositioned for safety reasons, so almost all the electricity during the storm was imported through the interconnector. Due to the heavier load passing through the interconnector, damage occurred and there was a blackout. To avoid such a situation, plans to build a second undersea interconnector were announced in 2021.

Production costs: green vs blue hydrogen

Until April 2022, ElectroGas Malta had a five-year contract for supplying LNG with the SOCAR company from Azerbaijan. Afterwards, it was understood that new contracts were signed with Italy-based energy utility company Enel Trade SpA. This new contract was based on a volatile gas price. Malta’s government decided that Enemalta should start pegging or ‘indexing’ the price against another commodity – Brent crude oil.

In 2021, the Planning Authority gave the green light for a 159km pipeline bet­ween Delimara, Malta and Gela, Sicily, that would transport natural gas and hydrogen. Miriam Dalli, Minister for Environment, Energy and Enterprise, boosted the prospect of securing EU funds for this pipeline after securing a derogation in 2021. The original idea in 2019 was to have a pipeline that would exclusively transport natural gas, but the application for EU funds was refused.

The EU hydrogen strategy was adopted in July 2020, by which 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen is predicted to be produced in the EU until 2030.

Sixteen European countries (France, Finland, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Norway, among others) have published their national hydrogen strategies.

Proposed natural gas and hydrogen pipeline. Graphic: Christian Busuttil/Design Studio

In the diagram above (top right), we can see that many EU countries are planning to start production of green hydrogen according to their national strategies until 2030.

By introducing a national strategy for hydrogen, Malta would have bigger chances of getting EU funds for the Delimara-Gela pipeline and to start the production of green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen is produced from water which is used as a raw material for an electrolysis process in which green hydrogen and oxygen are produced. Energy generated from wind or solar is also used in the production of green hydrogen.

Malta is surrounded by water, therefore, production of green hydrogen would be a logical step for the country, but importing it through another pipeline would also be a good temporary solution.

At the moment, the cost of producing green hydrogen is high, but by 2030, this cost is expected to become lower than the production cost of blue hydrogen.

Planned production of green hydrogen until 2030.

According to a report published by Norwegian power company Statkraft, hydrogen produced from renewable energy sources will account for 20 per cent of Europe’s power consumption and for 10 per cent globally until 2050.

Angolan state-owned energy company Sonangol is set to become Germany’s first supplier of green hydrogen from renewable energy. The green ammonia factory should be ready to export from 2024, Angola’s minister for gas, Pedro de Azevedo, said.

According to Reuters, the German government is seeking partners around the world from whom they can import green hydrogen, which is intended to replace fossil fuels such as oil and gas.

If Malta started producing green hydrogen, it could use it in the production of electricity, production of green ammonia or in the transport of people and goods. Green hydrogen could be mixed with natu­ral gas as a fuel for the production of electricity. Since the raw material for production of green hydrogen is water, Malta would not be dependent so much on importation as it is now. This would mean stronger energy stability for Malta.

The European hydrogen path

If Malta were producing green hydrogen, the next time a storm like Helios hits the islands and the LNG tanker is repositioned, green hydrogen could be used to generate electricity, thus not depend on the interconnector and avoid the possibility of blackouts.

Finally, it should be said that with the production of green hydrogen, Malta would have a much healthier and more stable energy supply for decades to come.

Srđan Sokolović is the owner of Sowa Solutions, which provides consulting services in energy, waste and chemi­cals management.