© Walter Branco / Plug Power
Galp has completed the installation of 100MW of Plug Power electrolyzers at its Sines refinery in Portugal, a project that will replace up to 20 per cent of the site’s grey hydrogen use from the second half of 2026.
Shift from grey to green hydrogen
The oil and gas group confirmed that all ten 10MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers supplied by US manufacturer Plug Power have been installed at the 220,000 barrel-per-day refinery. Once operational, the system is expected to produce up to 15,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year.
Galp said the project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 110,000 tonnes annually by displacing fossil-based hydrogen used in refining processes. Plug Power said commissioning of the electrolysers is expected to begin in the coming months.
Refiners face regulatory and carbon price pressure
European refiners are accelerating investment in green hydrogen as tighter climate rules and rising carbon prices under the EU’s emissions trading system increase the cost of continued grey hydrogen use. A 2025 Wood Mackenzie report estimated that refiners across Europe would need about 0.5mn tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030 to comply with EU regulations.
Ronald Doesburg, Galp’s executive board member responsible for industrial activities, said the Sines project was “a key step in the development of a new generation of low-carbon fuels” aimed at decarbonising industrial activities that cannot be electrified. Plug Power said the project showed why Europe remained one of its “most important strategic markets”.
Part of broader downstream repositioning
The Sines installation comes weeks after Galp said it was exploring combining parts of its downstream portfolio with Spanish energy group Moeve, including refining, low-carbon fuels and green molecules. Both companies are among a group of European refiners seeking to build large-scale green hydrogen capacity.
Moeve has already begun construction of the first phase of a planned 2GW green hydrogen hub across sites in Huelva and Cádiz in southern Spain, where it is also assessing the production of e-fuels. Together, the projects highlight how refinery-linked hydrogen demand is emerging as a core driver of electrolyser deployment in southern Europe.
