Europe's biggest gas distributor Italgas and EDF's Edison Energia have signed a contract to supply a blend containing green hydrogen to a plant of Italian food group Granarolo from September, the companies said on Thursday.

The move is the first attempt in Italy to use a blend with up to 20% of green hydrogen for an industrial activity, they said, adding the fuel will be produced using renewable energy coming from a power plant set up by Italgas in Sardinia.

Despite green hydrogen being a crucial element in the European Union's energy transition strategy, its widespread adoption has been hampered by high production costs.