Calay News
In Spain, from Andalusia to the Basque Country, green hydrogen megaprojects are multiplying, with the country at the forefront of this promising sector. However, the economic model for this energy of the future has not been found yet. Miguel Ángel Fernández, manager of the National Hydrogen Centre (CNH2), a public research body based in Puertollano (central Spain), says, “Everything is moving very quickly… So many initiatives are emerging that it is impossible to list them all.”
Iberdrola, the energy giant, launched a pilot plant in Puertollano last year, considered the largest industrial-use hydrogen production facility in Europe. After the trial phase, the white high deposits of this pioneering installation connected to a 100-megawatt photovoltaic park should obtain 3,000 metric tons of hydrogen annually using water electrolysis, which is 10% of the neighboring fertilizer giant Fertiberia’s needs. Iberdrola aims to test its large-scale production capacity in this location and plans to produce 100% of Fertiberia’s needs if the plant works well.
Following Iberdrola, several heavyweights in the Spanish energy industry, such as Cepsa, Naturgy, and Repsol, have launched into the green hydrogen race in recent months. Spain has invested €3 billion ($3.3 billion) in the “Andalusian Valley of Green Hydrogen,” an industrial complex consisting of two gigantic plants capable of producing 300,000 tons of this gas, which only emits water vapor when burned, making it a candidate for decarbonizing transportation and industry.
The Basque Country will invest €1.4 billion in a project involving about 60 companies. Asturias will build 15 photovoltaic parks by 2030, generating the electricity necessary to produce 330,000 tons of hydrogen.
Spain is positioning itself as a leader in the sector, supported by its enormous resources in solar and wind energy, said Rafael Cossent, a researcher at the Pontifical University of Comillas in Madrid. Spain has the potential to “produce renewable hydrogen in large quantities, not only to meet its own needs but also to export to Northern Europe,” added the Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2), which cites “50 projects” in progress.
However, the production of green hydrogen, which is currently more expensive than gray hydrogen, has not yet demonstrated its economic viability. Its widespread use also requires “complex changes” to vehicles or industrial facilities, making the hydrogen market uncertain, according to Cossent. Overinvestment in a project that is not yet mature can lead to a loss of competitiveness, warned the president of the Spanish competition authority.
