- Memorandum of Understanding to establish institutional cooperation in the hydrogen sector.
- The EIB is available to provide financial support to eligible projects, technical assistance and advisory support to foster investments in the sector in Portugal and to improve the bankability of projects.
- The agreement supports the country’s PNEC 2030 & RNC2050 strategies and is aligned to the European Hydrogen Strategy, promoting the development of the hydrogen economy.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Portuguese Government joined forces to promote the development of the hydrogen sector in the country. EIB Vice-President, Ricardo Mourinho Félix, and Minister of the Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, signed today in Lisbon a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the High Level Conference “Hydrogen in Society - Bridging the Gaps”, organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.. The proposed MoU is a non-binding agreement aimed at fostering cooperation between the two entities in the sector.
EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix, responsible for the Bank's operations in Portugal, said: “I am delighted to sign today this important agreement with the Portuguese Government that aims to accelerate investments in the hydrogen sector in Portugal. At the EIB Group, we firmly believe that clean hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in achieving the EU's carbon neutral target by 2050 and in promoting the green economic recovery in the context of COVID-19 as we see it as a fundamental enabler to make emissions more environmentally friendly. As the EU Climate Bank, we will be instrumental in mobilizing and encouraging private investment, making Europe greener and more innovative.”
“Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and at least 55% Green House Gases emission reductions by 2030, demand profound changes in our energy system and a strong commitment to an energy transition supported in the deployment of renewable energy. Renewable hydrogen is expected to play a key role in the decarbonisation of sectors where other alternatives might not be feasible or be more expensive, being decisive for the decarbonisation of European. Portugal aims to produce competitive green hydrogen and is keen to play a relevant role in the emerging hydrogen economy. This agreement we have signed today is an important piece of this strategy and is decisive for reinforcement of this projects,” said Minister of the Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes
The hydrogen sector will play an important role in accelerating the energy transition, as outlined in the European Hydrogen Strategy launched by the European Commission in 2020, which aims at building a whole hydrogen ecosystem for a climate-neutral Europe by installing 40GW of green hydrogen capacity by 2030. Thanks to the MoU signed today, the EIB will support Portugal’s ambitious environmental objectives set in the 2030 National Energy and Climate Plan, also known as PNEC 2030, and in the 2050 Carbon Neutral Roadmap for Portugal (RNC2050). -
The EIB’s financial support and the technical assistance offered by the Advisory Hub will help to accelerate investments in the sector, while improving the bankability of projects. Specifically, the EIB know-how on complex co-financing structures will enable the development of targeted financial products and innovative financing structures, while stimulating and catalysing investments from other sources.
Background information
EU Climate Bank
The European Investment Bank is active in around 160 countries and is the world’s largest multilateral lender for climate-related projects. The Bank has recently adopted its Climate Bank Roadmap to deliver on its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade to 2030 and to deliver at least 50% of EIB finance for climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025. By the end of 2020, all EIB Group financing activities will be aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The EIB in Portugal
The EIB has a long history of investments in Portugal, with the first operation in the country to date back to 1976. Since then, the EIB Group (EIB & EIF) have invested over €52 billion in the country. In 2020 alone, we signed 27 operations with a total financing volume of € 2 336 million, an increase of 44% compared to 2019, equivalent to about 1.2% of GDP Portuguese. Overall, Portugal was the fourth country in the EU that benefited most from the support of the EIB Group as a percentage of GDP.