Group photo; Credit: GALP

On Thursday 2 April 2026, Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, travelled to Lisbon and Sines to meet Portuguese authorities and several industrial stakeholders involved in the energy transition.

According to Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy, as part of a working visit to Portugal from 31 March to 2 April 2026, the visit forms part of broader European cooperation efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Upon arrival in Lisbon, Minister Delles was welcomed by Luxembourg’s Ambassador to Portugal, Marc Bichler, before taking part in a working lunch with the Portuguese Minister for the Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho. Discussions focused on national renewable energy policies, European climate objectives, as well as tools to strengthen energy security and interconnections across Europe, noted the ministry.

The talks also addressed the implementation of the European Renewable Energy Financing Mechanism (REFM), to which Luxembourg actively contributes and which represents a potential area for future cooperation with Portugal. Luxembourg is the first country to make use of the REFM through calls for tenders aimed at developing new solar parks in Finland and new onshore wind farms in Estonia.

The two ministers also took part via videoconference in an “extraordinary” informal meeting of European energy ministers, organised in response to recent developments in the Middle East, in order to coordinate a common European approach.

In Lisbon, the minister also met with the management of EDP, a major player in the Portuguese energy sector. Discussions focused on the development of renewable projects, key challenges in the sector and prospects for collaboration under the REFM.

In the evening, Lex Delles met with the Portuguese Minister of the Economy, Manuel Castro Almeida. Discussions covered the competitiveness of the European economy, the deepening of the single market and prospects for economic exchanges between Luxembourg and Portugal.

The second day of the visit focused on technical site visits in the Sines region, one of Portugal’s main energy hubs. Minister Delles visited the GALP refinery and the Sines Industrial and Logistics Zone (ZILS), before meeting stakeholders involved in renewable hydrogen projects.

In recent years, Portugal has established itself as a leading European player in renewable energy, with renewables accounting for 65.8% of electricity production in 2024, driven by wind, solar and hydropower, stated the ministry.. In terms of energy consumption, Portugal generated 83% of its electricity from renewable sources during the first months of 2025.

Luxembourg actively supports the development of renewable hydrogen infrastructure and has expressed particular interest in establishing a European hydrogen corridor. This initiative aims to strengthen regional energy connections and has already received official support from Luxembourg at the European Commission level as part of projects of common interest.

Discussions also addressed ongoing challenges, including grid capacity, flexibility needs and the scaling up of infrastructure required to support the production and future export of renewable hydrogen.

A visit to the Hylab centre, a Portuguese academic and research institution specialising in green hydrogen technologies, also provided an opportunity to explore concrete avenues for industrial cooperation in hydrogen production, including within the framework of a future energy corridor.

At the end of the visit, Minister Delles stated: “This visit reaffirmed the importance of cooperation between Luxembourg and Portugal, particularly in the areas of energy transition, low-carbon industrial projects and European energy network interconnections. Luxembourg is committed to exploring new opportunities in renewable energy, particularly through the REFM. I would also like to commend Portugal’s commitment to deploying renewable energy and advancing the internal energy market.”