The strategic green hydrogen project will mark “a before and after for the Spanish energy sector”

This was said yesterday by the president of the Spanish Hydrogen Association, Javier Brey, during the presentation of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Renewable Energies, Green Hydrogen and Storage, an act presided over by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. According to Brey, Spain “has the possibility of replacing the current consumption of fossil fuels with the consumption of a renewable, sustainable, locally produced hydrogen” and also has before it the “opportunity” not only to self-supply green hydrogen (produced with renewable energies), “but also to export hydrogen at a competitive price to northern Europe, thus making it an economic engine”.

Spain has the potential and capacity to become Europe’s renewable energy generation platform and, for this, hydrogen technologies are called to play a fundamental role. That has been the strong idea that has wielded the president of the Spanish Hydrogen Association, Javier Brey, who participated yesterday in the presentation of the Perte (Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation) of Renewable Energies, Hydrogen and Storage. And the best demonstration of the potential capabilities of renewable hydrogen , Brey said – is the fact that the Government has raised the Renewable Hydrogen Perte to the category of “country project”. In that sense, Brey publicly thanked the presence at the event of both the third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, and the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who also defended the condition of “country project” of the Perte of Renewable Energies, Renewable Hydrogen and Storage.

Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2)

“The approval of this Perte is a great boost for the development of hydrogen projects in Spain, since green hydrogen becomes the element that will receive greater economic support, of the order of 1,555 million euros channeled by the Ministry that, in turn, will mobilize another 2,800 million of private capital. In fact, in the short term, specifically in 2022, the document already includes the call for pioneering renewable hydrogen projects and the promotion of the renewable hydrogen value chain, with allocations of 150 million euros and 250 million euros, respectively»

Javier Brey, president of AeH2: “This day will mark a before and after for the Spanish energy sector. Spain currently imports one hundred percent of the oil and natural gas we consume. Fossil fuels are not sustainable, neither from an environmental point of view nor from an economic point of view. They do not guarantee the security of our energy supply. Spain has the possibility of replacing the current consumption of fossil fuels with the consumption of a renewable, sustainable, locally produced hydrogen. We have the opportunity not only to self-supply, but also to export hydrogen at a competitive price to northern Europe, thus making it an economic engine.”

The proposal of the Spanish Hydrogen Association is to take advantage of the renewable potential of the country to produce green hydrogen with wind and / or solar energy. Spain has the best solar resource in western Europe (more hours of radiation than any other nation in the European environment) and also has a very rich wind resource, something that President Sánchez also highlighted during his speech. And Spain, said Brey, has the capacity to multiply the installed capacity of wind or solar. Hydrogen would be the way to store wind or solar electricity (wind or sun are not always available when there is demand) and dispose of it… on demand.

Javier Brey, president of AeH2: “It is at this point where renewable hydrogen becomes of paramount importance, since we can produce all the renewable energy that we are capable of, and convert into hydrogen the electricity that we do not use at that same moment. And with that hydrogen, we can help decarbonise transport, industry, the energy sector and the residential sector (…). Our country has technology and a productive fabric that contribute to making this scenario a reality.”

The president of the Spanish Hydrogen Association also thanked the Government for its clear commitment to renewable hydrogen, “which is reflected in various actions and strategic documents called to define and build the energy future of Spain, such as the Hydrogen Roadmap; the allocation of a specific budget line in Component 9 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan; and, without a doubt, the Perte of Renewable Energies, Renewable Hydrogen and Storage”.

According to the AeH2, in the technological field, the national knowledge generating centers have increased the Spanish contribution in R&D related to hydrogen to 3.8% worldwide. In addition, the weight of Spanish R&D in hydrogen in Europe is estimated at 15%. In this sense, the Association highlights the fact that the projects presented over the last few months by Spanish companies exceed, both in investment and in electrolysis capacity to be installed, the objectives set for 2030 in the Renewable Hydrogen Roadmap and cover the entire hydrogen value chain, from its production to its use, through its transport, distribution and storage.

About AeH2 (www.aeh2.org)

The Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2), a non-profit organization, defines itself as “the voice and the reference agent of the hydrogen sector in Spain”. The Association, which will turn twenty years old in 2022, aims to “promote and boost the development and growth of hydrogen technologies in Spain”. The AeH2 represents nearly 300 partners from across the hydrogen value chain, including renewable energy developers, equipment and component manufacturers, engineering and turnkey developers (Engineering, Procurement and Construction), companies in the Oil & Gas sector (gas and oil), industrial gases, transportation, organizations linked to the sector, and many other organizations.

Among the initiatives promoted by AeH2 is the Spanish Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Platform (PTE HPC), a project supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and the elaboration of the Sectoral Agenda of the Hydrogen Industry in collaboration and support of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. In addition, the AeH2 is in full organization of the European Hydrogen Energy Conference (EHEC) 2022, which will be held in Madrid, from May 18-20, 2022.

Source: Renewable Energies