• Greek water utility EYDAP is preparing an approximately €9.3 million [US$10.8 million] pre-VAT study for the next phase of the Psyttalia wastewater-treatment centre, part of a wider investment programme estimated at around €500 million [US$578 million].
• Hydrogen is among several technologies to be assessed alongside biogas, biomethane, phosphorus recovery, water reuse and artificial intelligence, but no hydrogen-production facility has yet been approved.

 

Athens water utility EYDAP is moving ahead with detailed planning for a major overhaul of the Psyttalia wastewater-treatment centre, with hydrogen among the technologies being considered as the company seeks to turn one of Europe’s largest sewage-treatment facilities into a more energy-independent circular-economy hub.

 

The company has approved tender documents for a Phase 3 study covering the future development and optimisation of the facility. The engineering work has a budget of approximately €11.5 million [US$13.3 million] including VAT, equivalent to roughly €9.3 million [US$10.8 million] before VAT.

 

The much larger investment programme that could eventually follow is currently estimated at around €500 million [US$578 million], although the final scope, technologies and capital requirement will only be determined after the studies are completed.

 

That distinction matters for hydrogen.

 

EYDAP has not approved an electrolyser or committed to producing hydrogen at Psyttalia. Instead, Phase 3 will examine whether hydrogen can form part of a broader strategy to extract more energy and useful products from wastewater treatment.

 

Hydrogen Joins Biogas and Biomethane Assessment

The study will evaluate how Psyttalia can make better use of biological sludge and processing products including biogas, biomethane, hydrogen and phosphorus, principally with the aim of increasing energy recovery and reducing operating costs.

 

EYDAP will also examine technologies capable of lowering electricity consumption, increasing onsite power generation and improving the utilisation of recovered water.

 

Hydrogen could therefore emerge through several possible pathways, including production linked to renewable electricity or integration with gases already generated during wastewater treatment. The study will determine whether any such option is technically and commercially justified.

 

For now, biogas is considerably further advanced.

 

Psyttalia already uses biogas in two combined heat and power plants with a total generating capacity of 13.4MW, while surplus electricity can be exported to Greece’s national grid.

 

The Phase 3 work will assess whether that existing energy system can be expanded or complemented by biomethane, hydrogen and other technologies.

One of Europe’s Largest Wastewater Plants

Psyttalia is a major piece of infrastructure for Athens.

 

The treatment centre has a design capacity equivalent to 5.6 million people and receives an average of around 680,000 cubic metres of wastewater each day from the wider Attica region.

 

Current treatment removes approximately 93% of the organic load and 80% of nitrogen from incoming wastewater. EYDAP already reuses some recovered water within the treatment process and makes use of biosolids and biogas rather than treating them entirely as waste.

 

Phase 3 is intended to push that model considerably further.

 

EYDAP wants the facility to move towards much greater energy autonomy, a lower carbon footprint and eventually net-zero CO₂ operation while increasing the amount of treated water that can be reused.

 

The study will assess advanced treatment capable of allowing more recovered water to be used for purposes including irrigation and environmental applications.

 

AI Also Forms Part of €500m Overhaul

The work extends well beyond hydrogen and energy recovery.

 

EYDAP plans to compare Psyttalia’s operating and energy performance with similar large wastewater plants internationally and identify where costs and electricity consumption can be reduced.

 

Artificial-intelligence systems will also be assessed for regulatory compliance, operational optimisation and decision support, with proposed technologies required to undergo cost-benefit analysis before they can move forward.

 

The investment is being driven partly by tougher European requirements for urban wastewater treatment and energy neutrality, which are forcing large treatment facilities to reconsider how they use electricity, recover nutrients and manage emissions.

 

The end result could make Psyttalia operate less like a conventional sewage plant and more like a resource-recovery facility producing usable water, electricity, renewable gases and recovered materials.

 

Hydrogen Decision Still Years Away

There is still a long path between the current study and construction.

 

Once the tender is launched, the studies are expected to take around two years. EYDAP then anticipates roughly another two years to mature the selected projects and conduct procurement, followed by around three years of construction.

 

That puts completion of the wider Psyttalia 3.0 programme beyond 2030 under the current schedule.

 

Only after the engineering work is completed will EYDAP decide which technologies actually proceed.

 

Hydrogen is therefore worth watching, but it should not yet be described as a €500 million hydrogen project.

 

The €500 million figure relates to the potential overall modernisation of Psyttalia. Hydrogen is one of several energy and resource-recovery options being studied within that much larger programme.

 

Source:  Fuel Cells Works