The ban is opened for green hydrogen projects that will have 555 million in aid

The race to lead the hydrogen industry in Europe has only just begun. Decarbonization depends on this emerging technology.

Spain wants to become a “reference” for an energy that, in 2050, will represent a third of the fuel used in land transport, and 60% in maritime transport: green hydrogen. And for this, the Government has just launched two public consultations to define which projects will be chosen to receive the 555 million euros budgeted in aid for this sector.

A suggestive amount in the race to lead this industry. All energy companies see great possibilities to grow as companies, but also to create jobs, generate synergies and help the energy transition and the decarbonisation of the economy if they bet on renewable hydrogen.

The draft of the Ministerial Order approving the regulatory bases for granting aid to pioneer renewable hydrogen projects states that the aid will be “financed with the budget credit charged to the budget application 23.50. 420B.748 to the IDAE (Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy), that is, 555 million euros. This is stated in the “Programme: 420B Energy transition. Recovery and Resilience Mechanism”, of the Budget by programs and memory of objectives. Volume XIII (Section 23) of the General State Budgets 2022.

national value chain

However, they will also be able to count on part of the 445 million that will be allocated to the departure of alternative vehicles. Just one year ago, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced more than 1,500 million euros to develop these projects.

The goal is to reach 4 GW of installed electrolysis power. 25% of industrial hydrogen consumption will be of renewable origin in 2030 and should develop the value chain in our territory. And that’s without counting on the entire fuel cell mobility development plan.

The second ministerial order launched for public consultation plans to determine the aid for projects in the value chain that are innovative and knowledge-based, as well as for testing facilities and new manufacturing lines.

According to the draft, the maximum term for resolution of the aid will be three months and that of the execution of 36 months, “counted from the date of notification of the favorable resolution of the granting of aid.”

tractor projects

In December of last year, the deadline for presenting projects of interest, tractor projects, was closed, and some of what was presented is already known.

For example, Enagás and Navantia signed a collaboration agreement to promote green hydrogen development projects on a national scale. One of them is to develop the largest renewable hydrogen project in the Murcia region, specifically in the city of Cartagena and the Valle de Escombreras. The goal is to produce 25,000 metric tons of green hydrogen per year.

Another is located in the Canary Islands. It is the Canary Islands Renewable Hydrogen Hub Cluster project, aimed at contributing to the progressive decarbonisation of the Canary archipelago. It currently has the support of 20 public and private entities.

From Galicia an initiative was presented for the generation of green hydrogen from renewable sources led by Reganosa. It would be a 50 MW plant for use in industry, in mobility as fuel and for injection into the Galician gas pipeline network.

In the Valencian Community, a cluster of 17 companies has been created to attract investments of up to 475 million euros to promote a complete green hydrogen industrial plan aimed especially at industrial areas in Castellón, given that ceramics is one of its economic engines already turn a polluting industry.

In Andalusia, the Portuguese energy company EDP plans to invest 550 million and convert its coal-fired power plant in Los Barrios (Cádiz) into a green hydrogen production plant. This reconversion would allow the supply of renewable energy for the entire industrial environment of Campo de Gibraltar and future export by sea. And in Seville, H2inPORT has been presented, a port hydrogen ‘hub’ for the decarbonisation of industrial and urban activity, with an investment of 300 million and which will have public-private collaboration.

The list seems endless. In Castilla La Mancha, Puertollano wants to become the ‘hub’ of green hydrogen in Spain, and in Cantabria the MarCA Cluster presents a pilot project, the Green Hydrogen Cantabria, to position the region as a benchmark in industrial decarbonisation. The Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca is also very advanced, a plan to become the first supply of green hydrogen for the tourism sector in Spain, as well as for urban transport and the cement industry.

Business and banking

While these long-awaited aid arrives, the private sector has already started up. Enagás has promoted an investment plan of 2,250 million euros to turn Spain into a country that exports hydrogen to Europe and Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy plan to mobilize investments of 53,000 million euros in 360 projects.

And Caixabank has announced that it is joining the European alliance for clean hydrogen technologies. This year, the entity has mobilized 24,360 million euros in sustainable financing, according to data from the company itself, which has participated in the issuance of 16 green, sustainable or social bonds, with an amount of 16,300 million.

Source: The Spanish