Construction has started on MadoquaPower2X (MP2X), the green hydrogen and ammonia project in Sines whose backers include the CIP Energy Transition Fund, managed by Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The partners said on the project’s LinkedIn page that the site had been formally handed over to Mota-Engil, which is doing the earthworks, and that land levelling began on the morning of 9 November 2026. Engexpor is supervising the works. The post was reported on 11 November by the Italian hydrogen site HydroNews and by Quantum Commodity Intelligence.
MP2X is a three-way venture between the Portuguese developer Madoqua Renewables, CIP’s Energy Transition Fund and the Dutch green-fuels developer Power2X. It is one of the largest Nordic-backed industrial projects in Portugal.
What phase 1 will build
Phase 1 is a 500 MW electrolysis plant designed to produce about 51,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and 300,000 tonnes of green ammonia a year, according to HydroNews. A second phase would raise electrolysis capacity to 1.2 GW, which Madoqua has said would yield about 150,000 tonnes of hydrogen and more than one million tonnes of ammonia a year. HydroNews puts total investment at €2.8 billion, of which €1.3 billion is for phase 1, with operations expected to start in 2029.
The engineering has been largely Italian. MAIRE’s NextChem won the pre-FEED contract in 2022, and Tecnimont was chosen in 2024 for the front-end engineering design. The construction contractor for the plant itself has not been announced; the Mota-Engil contract covers the earthworks.
The subsidy that anchors the economics
MP2X was the largest winner of the European Hydrogen Bank’s first auction, whose results were published in April 2024. It secured about €245 million as a fixed premium of €0.48 per kilogram of renewable hydrogen, payable over ten years on up to 510,000 tonnes of output. The premium is the main public support behind the project’s economics, and Hydrogen Bank grants come with a deadline to start production.
Neither the partners’ post nor the coverage NorthSouth HQ reviewed mentions a final investment decision or financial close for the full phase 1. The start of site works is a strong signal of intent, not a substitute for those announcements.
Why it matters for the corridor
For Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Sines is the main Iberian position in power-to-X, and the start of works moves it from a development asset towards a construction one. For Danish and wider Nordic suppliers — electrolyser balance-of-plant, ammonia handling, marine terminals, grid equipment and operations services — the procurement window now opens. Madoqua has presented Sines as an export hub for green molecules to northern Europe, so the Nordic interest could run both ways: as investor and supplier today, and as a possible buyer of the molecules later this decade.
Sources: MadoquaPower2X LinkedIn post as reported by HydroNews (11 November 2026) and Quantum Commodity Intelligence (11 November 2026); European Hydrogen Bank first-auction results (April 2024) as reported by S&P Global; earlier NorthSouth HQ coverage. NorthSouth HQ did not find a press release from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the start of works at the time of writing.