Spain’s ministry for the ecological transition is expected to revise upwards its 2030 target for at least 4 GW of electrolyser installations, seeing that the nation’s green hydrogen pipeline currently stands at over 15.5 GW, Spanish news agency Europa Press reported citing sources from the ministry.
The ministry is now working on an update of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2030 (NECP), where it will set the new green hydrogen target to reflect the investor appetite in the sector, the news agency reported.
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In Spain’s Hydrogen Roadmap, the government set an interim goal of 300 MW to 600 MW of installed electrolysers in 2024 before reaching at least 4 GW by the end of the decade. According to Europa Press, there are now 80 green hydrogen projects happening in the country. More than half of those are oriented towards industrial and mobility applications.
If only one of the announced projects were to fully materialise, Spain could easily surpass the 4-GW capacity goal. The HyDeal Espana joint venture, formed by ArcelorMittal SA (AMS:MT), Spanish gas TSO Enagas SA (BME:ENG), fertiliser producer Grupo Fertiberia and Madrid-based hydrogen specialist DH2 Energy, is targeting 7.4 GW of electrolysers in northern Spain by 2030.
Just days ago, Spanish oil-and-gas group Cepsa announced a plan to build two 1-GW green hydrogen production plants at its refineries in Andalusia as part of its 2030 strategy Positive Motion. Another 2 GW are planned to come from the Spanish Hydrogen Network (SHYNE) consortium, led by multi-energy group Repsol SA (BME:REP).
But capacity build-out is not the only homework that the hydrogen sector in Spain has to do by the end of the decade. According to the Hydrogen Roadmap, which came out it October 2020, Spain consumes around 500,000 tonnes of mainly grey hydrogen per year. To reach the national 2030 target, the industry needs to replace 25% of its hydrogen consumption with the green variant.
Other goals include fuel-cell heavy vehicle roll-out, at least two commercial fuel-cell train lines, the use of fuel-cell power handling equipment and a convenient distribution of hydrogen filling station across the national territory.
Hydrogen tanks on route to Puertollano, Spain. Image by Iberdrola (handout)
