Over 540MW of green hydrogen capacity announced in Spain during February

LONDON (ICIS)–Over 540MW* of electrolyser capacity is expected to be developed based on different renewable hydrogen project announcements in Spain during February, the latest in a series that will likely accelerate and expand in the coming months.

The announcements of new renewable and electrolysis capacity are likely to lower the cost of renewable hydrogen production in the following years.

The Iberian Peninsula has proven attractive not only for domestic but also for international initiatives like the Hydeal Ambition project.

ENDESA TO DEVELOP 23 PROJECTS

On 1 February, Spanish utility Endesa announced it had submitted a letter of interest to the Ecological Transition ministry to develop 23 renewable hydrogen projects in Spain, involving 340MW of electrolyser capacity fed with an additional 2GW renewable power capacity.

In mainland Spain, Endesa is seeking to develop at least eight separate renewable hydrogen projects that will total 315MW of electrolyser capacity and 1.8GW of renewable capacity. The company will invest €2bn for these projects.

GREEN HYDROGEN FROM WIND

Spanish energy company Naturgy and Enagas also announced on 1 February that they are studying the production of renewable hydrogen from a 250 MW floating offshore wind farm and a 100 MW onshore wind farm in Asturias, northern Spain.

The power will be used for consumption by the Asturian industry and to decarbonise sectors such as steel and shipyards. This hydrogen will also be distributed on a large scale through the gas pipelines and exported to Europe.

The first deployment of the technology will be on a demo scale, with an output of 50MW of offshore wind power and 100MW of onshore wind power, a 5MW offshore electrolyser and a 100 MW onshore electrolyser.

In a follow-up phase, the project could be expanded to 250 MW of offshore wind with an additional 100 MW onshore electrolyser.

ORANGE.BAT INITIATIVE

On 4 February, an international consortium of 40 organisations from Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Greece launched ORANGE.BAT, an initiative to incorporate renewable hydrogen into the ceramics industry in Europe.

Energy company Enel Green Power will provide technical expertise and German cleantech company Sunfire will supply a 100MW pressurised alkaline electrolyser.

The planned large-scale pilot plant will be deployed nearby Castellon, eastern Spain, in one of the most important ceramic industrial clusters in Europe.

With sufficient funding in place, the operational start of the electrolyser is planned for early 2024.

HYDEAL AMBITION

On 11 February, a group of 30 European energy players officially launched “HyDeal Ambition” with the aim of delivering 100% renewable hydrogen across Europe at €1.5/kg – including transmission and storage – by 2030.

The production of renewable hydrogen generated by solar-driven electrolysis from the Iberian Peninsula will begin in 2022.

The ambition is to achieve 95GW of solar and 67GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030 to deliver 3.6 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year to users in the energy, industry and mobility sectors via the gas transmission and storage network.

It is yet not clear how much of the solar and electrolysis capacity will be developed in Spain.

Spanish participants include solar developer DH2/Dhamma Energy, gas grid operator Enagas and energy company Naturgy.