Sines, Setúbal, Portugal, June 23, 2025 (Lusa) - The environmental licensing of the MadoquaPower2X (MP2X) project to produce renewable hydrogen and ammonia in Sines, on Portugal's south western coast, is open for public consultation until the end of July, with the project envisaging an investment of €2.8 billion.
The public consultation process, promoted by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and subsequent industrial licensing by the Alentejo Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR), began on Friday and will last for 30 days, i.e. until July 31.
“As part of the public consultation process, all comments and suggestions submitted in writing will be assessed and considered, provided they are specifically related to the facility under evaluation,” explains the APA in the notice of this procedure.
According to the Non-Technical Summary of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS), consulted today by the Lusa agency, the Madoqua project aims to install two industrial units in the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone (ZILS), in the district of Setúbal.
The aim is to produce renewable hydrogen (H2) and ammonia (NH3), the final product of which will be shipped via a dedicated pipeline to the Port of Sines.
According to the EIS, the hydrogen plant will have 500 megawatts (MW) of electrolysis to power the ammonia production unit, which will be transported by pipeline to the Port of Sines, where it will be loaded for export and/or used as marine fuel.
The project promoter, classified as Potential National Interest (PIN), estimates that the construction phase will take place between 2026 and 2027, with production scheduled to start in 2029, with an approximate investment of €2.8 billion.
The initiative, whose operational phase will last 30 years, “will promote economic growth through sustainable activity and contribute to 10–15% of total planned investment in hydrogen in Portugal,” according to the document.
“The objective of the first phase of development is to use a 560 MVA [megavolt-ampere] grid connection to power a set of 460–500 MW electrolysers to produce around 76,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year,” says the Portuguese-Dutch renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure developer.
This hydrogen "will be utilised as a raw material in the ammonia production process, which will have a production capacity of 1,200 metric tonnes per day, around 438,000 tonnes of ammonia per year".
According to the document, the H2 and NH3 production units are "not located in any sensitive areas", while the NH3 pipeline "intersects critical and very critical areas for water birds, which, although not classified, are of conservation interest".
In the area covered, “specimens of cork oak were identified, with a particular incidence in the factory plots” and “a survey of the oak species present was carried out.”
In this context, they indicate that the deforestation and reforestation operation, as well as the implementation of mitigation and compensation measures, will be the responsibility of the Portuguese Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade (Aicep), the managing entity of the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone and owner of the plots, with which Madoqua has a cooperation protocol.
According to the developer, “the foreseeable interventions that will occur during the construction phase” of the units will have “significant impacts”, but “of reduced magnitude and insignificant” in terms of various environmental and heritage factors.
In the EIS, the developer acknowledges that the project is close to inventoried heritage sites, such as the Camino de Santiago, and to an area with biodiversity under study.
The developer said it intends to develop a Flora and Vegetation Monitoring Plan and an Avifauna Monitoring Plan to assess the effect of the installation on the bird community.
HYN/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
