Nails concessions for lithium exploitation in some mines in Portugal and projects related to green hydrogen to create clean energy. These are the suspicions that brought down the Prime Minister of Portugal this Tuesday, Antonio Costawho has been implicated in a case of corruption and influence peddling and has resigned to “protect the institution.”

The Portuguese Prosecutor’s Office ordered the search of more than 40 buildings, including the official home of the former Portuguese prime minister. The investigations focus on lithium exploitation concessions in the mines of Roman and Barrosoin the north of the country, in addition to a project for a hydrogen energy production plant and another for the construction of a data center, both in Sines.

You listen, green hydrogen and favor treatment

In January 2021, information from the weekly ‘Expresso’ reported that the Public Ministry considered a wiretapping of the then environment minister Portuguese, João Matos Fernandes, in which he spoke with Costa, in an investigation into possible irregularities in the green hydrogen business.

According to that medium, the Supreme Court of Justice admitted at that time to include the recording in the investigation into a supposed favor treatment from the Costa Government to Portuguese companies in the field of green hydrogen.

In that conversation no signs of crime were found and in it Costa and Matos Fernandes spoke about the ongoing negotiations to define the location of a green hydrogen project, a lithium refinery, possible interested parties in the business and the possibility of collaboration with Spain.

The magazine ‘Sábado’ revealed at the time that this case was opened after an anonymous complaint in 2019 that indicated that the Portuguese Government had favored Portuguese companies that were part of a consortium to build an industrial green hydrogen project in Sines.

Among these companies were EDP, the oil company Galp and REN, which together with the Portuguese Martifer and the Danish Vestas announced that they had joined in a consortium to study the creation of an industrial cluster to produce green hydrogen in Sines.

The prosecution now suspected of influence peddling and corruption in the projects in Sines, a green hydrogen plant and a data center, known as H2Sines, to develop one gigawatt of hydrogen production power, which would serve as fuel for a Galp refinery and other facilities, in addition to generating surplus for export.

A suspicious lithium award

In the case of lithium, researchers are focusing on a concession to the firm Lusorecursos of the exploration of this mineral in the Montalegre area. According to the newspaper ‘Expresso’, the case also dates back to 2019 when João Galamba, then Secretary of Energy and current Minister of Infrastructure, granted Lusorecursos Portugal Lithium authorization to carry out lithium exploration.

The television channel ‘CNN Portugal’ has assured that this project, valued at 380 million euros, was granted to Lusorecursos for a period of 50 years.

The channel recalled that, according to the law, for a company to win an exploration contest for 50 years, prospecting must have been done first, something that did not happen with Lusorecursos, which raised suspicions that alleged corruption had occurred.

How far does Costa’s involvement go?

The extent of Costa’s alleged involvement in these projects is still unclear, although the Portuguese Prosecutor’s Office indicated that several suspects have spoken of his alleged involvement in the case for “unblocking procedures”.

For now, the Prosecutor’s Office has issued arrest warrants against the prime minister’s chief of staff, the mayor of Sines and two of his administrators in the company “Start Campus” and against a lawyer, who will be presented before Justice for interrogation. .

Galamba and the president of the Board of Directors of the Portuguese Environment Agency have also been declared “arguidos” (formal suspects, a figure prior to the accusation).

Following Costa’s resignation, the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, meets with political parties to decide whether to dissolve Parliament and call elections.