Serbia’s draft hydrogen strategy is expected to be prepared by the summer, followed by a public debate. The plan is to give hydrogen an important role in the development of the new energy development strategy, which will start soon.

Serbia’s Hydrogen Strategy Outline Project envisions the installation of 10 MW of electrolysis facilities using renewable energies by 2025 and 100 MW by 2030. It was prepared by a working group called the hydrogen team, comprising representatives of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Mihajlo Pupin Institute, Elektromašinogradnja professional association, which brings together 13 Serbian companies, the company WES-CO Power and Engineering and several experts.

The floating platform would be located on the Danube or the Sava

Zoran Ilić, Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, announced that the first hydrogen production plant should be built near the Sava or the Danube.

It would be a floating mobile platform with 110 hydrogen tanks of 50 cubic meters each and facilities for the production of electricity – wind or solar power plants, with a total capacity of up to 3 MW. , he revealed during the hydrogen strategy conference in Serbia, organized by the Hydrogen Team and the Energija Balkana news site.

The platform would extend over half a hectare, according to Ilić. He specified that the hydrogen would be produced by electrolysis, from water, and that it would be possible to purify the water used, which gives the whole project an ecological dimension. The platform will be made entirely of wood, he said.

Ilić added that the new energy laws envisage the production of hydrogen as one of the activities of the energy sector.

The goal is that the strategy is not just another strategy, but translates into new production facilities

Radivoje Mitrović, dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, said the current energy sector development strategy can also be called a coal strategy because energy production is based on fossil fuels. Today times are changing dramatically, and one of the new challenges is hydrogen, he said.

The goal for Serbia is not just to get a good hydrogen strategy document and stop there, which often happens, but to have hydrogen production facilities from which taxpayers would greatly benefit. , said Mitrović.

Discussions are underway with the World Bank on financing the development of a new energy development strategy

One of the shortcomings of the academic community is the poor conversion of research results into new products and technologies, and that needs to change, he said, adding that the Ministry of Mines and Energy is in talks. with the World Bank on financing the development of a new energy development strategy.

The objective is not to engage in long-term discussions on hydrogen, but to quickly come up with an action strategy that will yield results in the short term, but also in the medium and long term, which means production plants, new technologies and products, Mitrović said.

The hydrogen strategy will contain specific projects ready to be nominated for funding

“I call on everyone to do everything in their power to develop a draft hydrogen strategy before the summer,” he said.

The idea of ​​Hydrogen team leader Miljan Vuksanović is to integrate specific projects into the hydrogen strategy that would be ready to apply for funding.

The Faculty of Mechanical Engineering will support the development of hydrogen by creating professional staff, which could be the first step to take, Mitrović said. He added that its programs would be innovated in order to obtain high-level engineers competitive with their peers in the most developed countries.

Today, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering has two laboratories – for hydrogen corrosion and fuel cells, which cooperate with the Vinča Institute of Nuclear Sciences, noted the dean.

Vuksanović: Necessary to implement the transition with an active role for the national economy and scientific institutions

Experiences from other countries confirm that the hydrogen transition is inevitable, said Miljan Vuksanović, Hydrogen Team Leader and Vice President of WES-CO Power and Engineering.

He said the authors of the hydrogen strategy had the task of enabling implementation with an active role for the national economy and scientific institutions.

“The hydrogen transition strategy will be the result of cooperation between industry, investors and public administration. It will be concise and pragmatic, with the possibility of controlling its implementation. It will also include 50 projects and programs and targets for 2023, 2030, 2050. We plan to complete it in the third quarter and make it available to the public, ”Vuksanović said.

The national industry wishes to participate in the development of the hydrogen strategy

Milenko Nikolić, general manager of the Mihajlo Pupin – Automatika Institute (IMP Automation & Control Systems Ltd.) and chairman of the board of the Elektromašinogradnja association, said that the development of the hydrogen strategy was of a vital interest for national companies.

He said members of the association were involved in the overhaul of coal-fired power plants and that the facilities would be shut down in the coming years, leaving the companies with no market segment.

The second reason is education because it is very important for Serbia to have skilled workers in hydrogen technologies, Nikolić added.

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