According to industry sources, the new aid package would be developed through the Hydrogen Valleys Project, the bases of which were submitted to a public hearing by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge between April and June.
The initiative would also be supported by European NextGenEU funds linked to component 31 of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and the European Commission’s RePowerEU mechanism.
The aim of these incentives is to encourage the large-scale production and consumption of renewable and electrolytic hydrogen, as well as derived fuels, to promote the full integration of this vector into the Spanish energy mix and as a tool to advance the decarbonisation of different industrial sectors.
The future call for aid is expected to take place in September and its resolution, managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings (IDAE), will take place between December and February 2025.
APPETITE FOR GREEN HYDROGEN
These grants are sought by energy companies that are promoting strategic projects for the development of green hydrogen in Spain, such as CEPSA, BP, Enagás, Acciona, along with the rest of the companies that have already obtained the grants approved this week for seven large projects led by Repsol, Iberdrola, Endesa and EDP Spain. These initiatives have been chosen by the European Commission in the framework of the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Hy2Use and will take place in Aragon, Andalusia, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha, Murcia and the Basque Country.
Following the Council of Ministers, the Third Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, highlighted that Spain is one of the major recipient countries of this type of aid from Brussels, with more than 40% of the funds for this matter. Specifically, five of the beneficiary initiatives include the construction of High capacity electrolyzers – 100 MW or more – in highly active industrial environments, such as ports and other industrial complexes, and the creation of integrated clusters or valleys to be located in Andalusia, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha, the Basque Country and Murcia. The other Spanish proposals of the IPCEI Hy2Use will be deployed in Aragon and include the launch of two renewable hydrogen generation projects for use in the manufacture of fertilizers and other chemical compounds.
In total, the seven IPCEI Hy2Use projects approved These will add up to 652.2 new megawatts (MW) of electrolysis power In aggregate, and in economic terms, they will mobilise resources worth 1,141 million immediately and more than 6,000 million in total investment throughout their useful life.
Of this package of grants, Repsol received a total of 315 million euros for its Bilbao Large Scale electrolyzer project and for the Cartagena Large Scale electrolyzer project, while Iberdrola received 242 million euros for the Renewable Hydrogen project for the production of ammonia and green fertilizers, in Puertollano (Ciudad Real).
EDP Spain raised a total of 209 million euros for the Green H2 Los Barrios, Asturias H2 Valley and Ver-Amonia (Teruel) projects, and Endesa raised another 28 million euros in aid for its green hydrogen project in Magallón (Zaragoza).
This set of aid will be added to other possible aid managed by the European Commission such as the Innovation Fund and the second auction managed by the European Hydrogen Bank.
The promotion and support for the creation of renewable hydrogen clusters is also considered crucial to achieving the objectives outlined in the Renewable Hydrogen Roadmap and in the revision of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), which foresees an increase in electrolysis capacity by 2030, from 4 gigawatts (GW) to 11 GW.