Within at most two years, Romania’s first hydrogen production plant is expected to become operational. Hydrogen, an alternative fuel, is seen as a complementary option to electric vehicles. The new facility will be built in Cluj-Napoca, and according to Cluj24.ro, authorities have already secured approval for its electricity connection.
The authorities in Cluj-Napoca are thus collecting the necessary permits to build the first hydrogen production unit in our country, a project coordinated by Professor Bogdan Varga from the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. He stated that, at this moment, they are working on the specifications, so that the public tender can be organized in order to find a builder.
“We are currently drafting the specifications to begin the public tender procedure. The previous days, the connection permit for the electricity supply for the location on Plevnei Street was obtained and we are currently finalizing the documentation for the specifications,” he told the quoted source. The factory will operate within the depot of the Public Transport Company in the municipality of Cluj-Napoca, according to Romania Journal.
According to the documentation approved since autumn last year by the Cluj-Napoca Local Council, the value of the project is 71 million lei excluding VAT, from European funds. The plant will contain an electrolysis installation for the production of green hydrogen, as well as specific connections for hydrogen supply.
“We estimated 18 months from the moment of signing the contract for the commissioning of this station,” said Professor Varga. “If all things align, at the end of 2026, beginning of 2027 we will have the first hydrogen molecule actually produced at the location.” When operating at full capacity, the production point will be able to transmit a quantity of 1,024 kilograms of hydrogen per day to the network.
“We estimate a production capacity of 1,024 kilograms of hydrogen in 24 hours, around 2.3 to 2.5 MW in power. This will serve, in addition to the fleet of buses that the municipality wants to purchase as part of this broader project, respectively, part of the hydrogen produced will go to the District Heating Authority, which in turn has a strategy of using hydrogen to produce heat, and part of the hydrogen will be available to those who want to purchase such types of vehicles,” explained Bogdan Varga.
The professor said that, currently, Cluj is the city in the country that has the most advanced projects in the production, storage and use of green hydrogen, that is, that obtained through the electrolysis process, without polluting emissions. “Those in Galați also intend to purchase hydrogen buses and have applied to the European Commission for funding for this type of project. “Unfortunately, in Galați, to my knowledge, they haven’t moved on to the phase of studies and approvals necessary for the plant’s commissioning. There, it’s a more complex project because they want to co-opt it with the steel factory,” he explained.
“In Cluj, as a university we are partners in the national Ro-HydroHub project, a 130 million euro project that aims to research hydrogen mobility solutions, production, storage and so on. It is an ecosystem of which the university is part, and the municipality is the beneficiary of this knowledge”, said Bogdan Varga.
Since last spring, the first road tests with a hydrogen bus have started in Cluj. The municipality wants to purchase 40 battery electric buses and 40 hydrogen buses. The first batch will contain 31 battery buses, respectively another 25 units with hydrogen fuel cells. Currently, the public transport fleet of the Cluj-Napoca Transport Company is composed of 263 buses, 10 minibuses, 80 trolleybuses, 41 electric buses and 35 trams.
Starting in 2028, Cluj-Napoca aims to develop a fully green public transport network based on hydrogen. These buses will have no negative impact on the environment, thus contributing to improving air quality and reducing pollution.
Hydrogen transport represents an innovative and environmentally-friendly solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change. Hydrogen is a clean fuel that, when used in fuel cells, produces only water and heat as by-products. This makes hydrogen transport an attractive alternative to traditional fossil fuels.
Read also:
Wizz Air launches new summer route from Cluj-Napoca to Heraklion, Greece
Romanians with hearing impairments to test innovative bracelet at cinema in Cluj-Napoca
