Volcanic centres in the Portuguese offshore, located between the Mid-Atlantic Rift zone (Azores archipelago) and the continental margin.
The “National Atlas of Sustainable Green H2” is a tool based on georeferenced information that follows defined criteria in the development of scenarios to assess the suitability of the location of green hydrogen production projects with regard to: (i) necessary resources to power hydrogen production plants through water electrolysis; (ii) land use conditions for the implementation of green hydrogen production units, and (iii) factors that enhance the commercialization of the produced hydrogen. Based on this “National Atlas of Sustainable Green H2” tool, we present 4 maps referring to 4 scenarios that identify the “best” areas for green hydrogen production according to the basic rationale of each scenario. The 4 maps represent the following scenarios: scenario A “Diversified”, scenario B “Drought, Gas Grid and Transport”; scenario C “Drought and gas consumers”; scenario D “Prospective”. Each scenario was developed based on 3 sub-indices (i) proximity to water sources, (ii) proximity to energy sources and (iii) ease of commercializing green H2 on the market. The water sub-index consists of a maximum of 7 indicators considering the proximity to the following potential water sources: surface water bodies, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), public water network, groundwater, seawater, multi-purpose irrigation grid, water scarcity index. The energy sub-index consists of a maximum of 6 indicators, namely: solar resource, onshore wind resource, offshore wind resource, proximity to bioelectricity producers, proximity to hydropower producers, proximity to the power grid. Finally, the market sub-index is made up of a maximum of 5 indicators, including proximity to: potential industry consumers of H2, potential transport consumers of H2, potential consumers of H2 as raw material, large CO2 emitters. Each final map excludes from potential project locations land occupation that proves to be inappropriate. The following are not yet considered: easements and public utility restrictions, RAN and REN areas, Territorial Planning Plans, municipality land planning (PDM), SEVESO Directive hazardous zones, protected areas under the Water Framework Directive , seismicity, flood risk and/or geologically unstable areas (erosion, landslides, etc.). This Atlas requires a detailed analysis of sites considering all applicable legislation. The geographic information used has inherent limitations regarding date, scale, resolution and sources. Furthermore, the viability assessment for a specific project requires detailed information that goes beyond the variables contained in this Atlas and considers other decision-making and legal compliance factors, which cannot be considered at this scale.
Location of structures resulting from the submarine fluids emissions, such as: mud volcanoes (methane hydrates); Pockmaks (methane) and hydrothermal vents (fluids enriched in salts and metallic elements), located between the Mid-Atlantic Rift zone (Azores archipelago) and the continental margin.
Geology and Geomorphology of offshore Portugal in the Quaternary period, using as reference the Geological Chart of the Immersed Area, Scale 1: 2 000 000, of the Geological Chart of Portugal, Scale 1: 1 000 000. National Laboratory of Energy and Geology (LNEG) 2010 .
Geological Map of the Algarve Region, scale 1:100 000, produced by the Geological Survey of Portugal in 1992, as part of systematic geological surveys of the Meso-Cenozoic coast of the Algarve.
Geological map data of Spain and Portugal at 1:1 000 000 scale modified according to INSPIRE data specifications for the Geology theme. Layers depicting Geologic Units are classified according to ages and lithologies from INSPIRE vocabularies.
Database that stores and catalogues thin sections and polished surfaces, as well as the corresponding source samples, providing a valuable resource for the scientific community.