Spain targets 14GW hydrogen capacity

Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition said on May 13 it would allocate 439.4 million euros ($514.5 million) to three renewable-hydrogen projects in Andalusia and Castilla-La Mancha. The awards cover 250 megawatts of electrolysis capacity across two projects in Huelva province and one in Albacete, according to the ministry. The funding comes through Spain’s second national “auction-as-a-service” mechanism, which uses domestic recovery funds to support projects that had cleared part of the European Hydrogen Bank process but did not receive EU money because the bloc’s budget was exhausted. Emilio Nieto, director of Spain’s National Hydrogen Centre, said on May 14 that Spain has promoted 361 hydrogen projects from 83 entities with planned investment of 30 billion euros. If the current roadmap is followed, Spain would have 14 GW of capacity by 2031, Nieto said at an industry forum, according to elEconomista. (miteco.gob.es) ### Which projects won the latest Spanish hydrogen funding round? MITECO said the selected projects are Noon II, ODIN and QUIXOTGEN. Two are in Huelva province and one is in Albacete, and together they add 250 MW of electrolysis capacity intended to supply renewable hydrogen to industrial users in those areas. Iberdrola is the lead sponsor on the two Huelva projects, industry reports said, while Doña Urraca Energy — linked to Capital Energy in Spanish trade coverage — leads the Albacete project. (eleconomista.es) Sector reports said the Huelva awards were split between a 140 MW plant and an 80 MW plant, with the remaining 30 MW in Villarrobledo, Albacete. ### Why is Spain using national money for projects tied to an EU auction? (miteco.gob.es) The European Commission had preselected the three projects in the third general auction of the European Hydrogen Bank, but they were left without Brussels funding after the available EU budget ran out, MITECO said. Spain’s national auction-as-a-service system then picked them up with money from the country’s recovery, transformation and resilience plan. (gasworld.com) CINEA, the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, set the ranking used for the transfer into Spain’s mechanism, the ministry said. The support is structured as a subsidy for certified renewable hydrogen production for as long as 10 years from the start of operations, provided projects comply with EU rules for renewable fuels of non-biological origin and environmental safeguards. (miteco.gob.es) ### Where does the 14-GW figure come from? Nieto’s 14-GW figure is not the original target in Spain’s 2020 hydrogen roadmap. The roadmap approved by the Council of Ministers set out Spain’s national policy framework for renewable hydrogen, with targets aimed at 2030 and a broader climate-neutrality horizon by 2050. The 14-GW number appears to reflect the current project pipeline rather than a formal update published on the roadmap page. (miteco.gob.es) Spain’s hydrogen association said in its 2024 project census that the country had 361 projects across the hydrogen value chain, including 167 commercial projects, and estimated total reported investment at 36.37 billion euros. ### What does the project pipeline look like on the ground? (miteco.gob.es) The 361-project census spans research, demonstration and commercial schemes across production, transport, storage and end use, according to the Spanish Hydrogen Association’s 2024 update. Of those, 80 were research projects, 55 were demonstration projects in relevant environments, 50 were real-environment demonstration projects and 167 were commercial projects. (energias-renovables.com) Brownfield industrial locations such as Huelva and Albacete typically require site-preparation work before electrolyser equipment is installed, according to project descriptions and sector coverage of the selected plants. That includes foundations, drainage, access roads and other enabling works around industrial parcels that are being repurposed for hydrogen production. (energias-renovables.com) ### What happens next for the selected bidders? IDAE, the state energy agency administering the process, has opened a 21-day period for the three transferred projects and other Spanish reserve-list participants in the Innovation Fund IF25 auction to submit the required documentation. That package includes participation and project-execution guarantees, MITECO said. (pv-magazine.es) The subsidies will be paid against renewable hydrogen output certified as fully renewable under EU rules, and the support can run for up to a decade after operations begin. The next formal step is the documentation review by IDAE for Noon II, ODIN, QUIXOTGEN and any Spanish reserve-list projects seeking to move through the same mechanism. (miteco.gob.es)