The Council of Ministers, following a proposal by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), today approved the “Hydrogen Road Map: a commitment to renewable hydrogen“. With this planning, the Government is promoting the deployment of this sustainable energy vector, which will be key to Spain achieving climate neutrality, with a 100% renewable electricity system, no later than 2050.
The development of renewable hydrogen will encourage the creation of innovative industrial value chains in our country, technological knowledge and the generation of sustainable employment, contributing to the reactivation towards a green economy with high added value.
The document, whose development is contemplated in the Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) 2021-2030, includes 60 measures and sets national targets – in line with the European Hydrogen Strategy – for 2030. Among others, 4 gigawatts (GW) of installed power of electrolysers, a minimum of 25% of hydrogen consumption by industry must be renewable, and hydrogen-powered trains and heavy transport vehicles must be installed.
The achievement of the 2030 targets reflected in the Roadmap will make it possible to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq).
Finally, the Roadmap anticipates a vision of what the role of hydrogen will be over the next three decades, in which Spain seeks to lead a country project towards a decarbonised economy, in order to promote the innovative value chain, applied knowledge of the industry, the development of pilot projects throughout the national territory and support for fair transition areas.
THE POTENTIAL OF HYDROGEN
Hydrogen is not a primary source of energy, as the sun or the wind can be, but an energy carrier, i.e. a manufactured product that is capable of storing energy so that it can be released gradually. If renewable energies are used in its manufacture, the hydrogen obtained will be considered as “green hydrogen” or “renewable hydrogen“.
The Roadmap identifies this energy vector as a key sustainable solution for the decarbonisation of the economy and the development of industrial and R&D&I value chains, thus becoming one of the levers of economic revival linked to the energy transition, together with other areas such as renewable deployment, sustainable and connected mobility or energy rehabilitation of buildings.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SPAIN
In this sense, the Road Map identifies the opportunities that the promotion of national production and the application of renewable hydrogen represent for Spain.
Firstly, the commitment to renewable hydrogen will activate the development of value chains. New opportunities are opening up for the generation of sustainable employment and economic activity in areas such as the manufacture of electrolyser assemblies, fuel cells, components (electronics, control, automotive, mechanics), vehicles, shipyards, pressure tanks, hydrogen generators or renewable hydrogen production plants, as well as their management, large-scale storage solutions, hydrogen transport equipment or mobility services based on renewable hydrogen.
This strengthening of the value chain will be accompanied by greater Spanish energy R&D&I, which will also become a pillar for sustainable economic development. In this respect, the Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation 2021-2027 include among its national R&D&I strategic lines the application of renewable hydrogen in industry and as a resource for climate change and decarbonisation.
Green hydrogen will be key in the path the country has taken to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for climate change, as well as other pollutants linked to segments such as transport, energy generation and the industrial sector. In fact, the Road Map highlights the potential of renewable hydrogen to decarbonise sectors or processes with greater decarbonisation complexity such as air transport or industrial processes requiring high temperatures.
In addition, the document highlights its potential to accelerate renewable deployment in our country, with the associated positive effects that a greater presence of renewable energies in the system has on electricity prices and on industrial competitiveness. In this area, the Road Map highlights its role in the development of intelligent networks and, especially, in storing renewable energy on a large scale and in a seasonal manner, providing the system with manageability. This deployment will be done in line with the Storage Strategy, a draft of which is currently being finalised by MITECO.
These two factors, according to the Road Map, will make hydrogen one of the main assets to make Spain one of the European powers in renewable generation. In addition, other technologies will be implemented, such as those included in the Road Map for the development of Offshore Wind and Marine Energy in Spain, which is also being prepared, and which will bring about a radical change in the current energy paradigm, consolidating a 100% renewable electricity system by 2050.
Another aspect highlighted by the Roadmap is the potential of renewable hydrogen to promote the decarbonisation of isolated energy systems, with particular attention to island territories.
OBJECTIVES IN 2030
The Road Map sets out national targets for the promotion of renewable hydrogen by 2030 and, based on these, designs a vision for 2050, when Spain will have to achieve climate neutrality and have a 100% renewable electricity system. The objectives are consistent with the targets set by the European Commission in its Hydrogen Strategy. They are as follows:
- Production: 4 GW of installed electrolysis power – the system for producing renewable hydrogen using clean energy and water – which represents 10% of the target set by the European Commission for the whole of the EU. Additionally, as an intermediate milestone, it is estimated that by 2024 it would be possible to have an installed capacity of electrolysis of between 300 and 600 MW.
- 25% of industrial hydrogen consumption will be of renewable origin by 2030. Today, industry uses almost all the 500,000 tons of hydrogen consumed in Spain annually. Most of the product used is hydrogen of fossil origin (or grey hydrogen), i.e. it uses natural gas as a raw material in its manufacture. For every kilogram of renewable hydrogen that replaces an existing consumption of non-renewable hydrogen, 9 kg of CO2 is avoided in the atmosphere.
- In terms of mobility, by 2030, a fleet of at least 150 buses; 5,000 light and heavy vehicles; and 2 commercial train lines powered by renewable hydrogen are planned. Similarly, a network of at least 100 hydrogen generators and hydrogen-powered handling equipment should be implemented in the first 5 ports and airports.
Based on these objectives, the Roadmap anticipates the changes that will occur in the hydrogen economy beyond 2030 and into 2050. The document stresses that, once this decade is over, there will be an acceleration in the production and application of renewable hydrogen in Spain, which will be fully competitive with other production technologies. This will facilitate the expansion of renewable hydrogen consumption in sectors that are difficult to decarbonise and in new applications, including maritime and air transport, and high-temperature industrial energy processes. Finally, due to its potential as a producer, the Road Map foresees that Spain could become an exporter of renewable hydrogen to the rest of Europe.
60 MEASURES
The document proposes a set of 60 measures, grouped into four areas of action. Firstly, there are regulatory actions that include, among others, the introduction of a system of guarantees of origin to ensure that hydrogen is produced from 100% renewable energy. A second chapter is dedicated to sectoral measures to encourage the use of renewable hydrogen and the implementation of projects in areas such as industry, energy or mobility.
On the other hand, the Road Map includes measures of a transversal nature to promote knowledge of the potential of renewable hydrogen in society as a whole; and, finally, it addresses the promotion of R&D&I linked to these technologies.
Among other measures, the Roadmap will promote the design of financial instruments to support the Spanish hydrogen-intensive industry in adapting its processes and infrastructures to the continuous supply of renewable hydrogen. It will also identify the current hydrogen consumption centres, promoting and encouraging the creation of “hydrogen valleys“; and it will promote the constitution of Industrial Hydrogen Tables together with autonomous communities, local administrations, hydrogen consumers and promoters of renewable hydrogen production projects.
Similarly, measures are included to promote the national development of large power electrolysers (100 MW), as well as to boost their mass production and the application of new materials; and to foster R&D&I along the hydrogen value chain, so that Spanish science and companies can participate in their development, which will allow the creation of knowledge and competitive advantages, including the Spanish automotive industry, railway, maritime and air transport. In this respect, an exclusive line of financing will be created for projects in the renewable hydrogen value chain in successive State Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation Plans.
On the other hand, new energy nuclei for the production of renewable hydrogen will be promoted to help avoid rural depopulation and to achieve the objectives of the demographic challenge, with particular attention to the regions of just transition.
The Roadmap concludes by identifying the different financing instruments for its deployment, including EU Next Generation funds and the Clean Hydrogen Alliance, created by the European Commission. The document also includes an annex with hydrogen projects identified in Spain.
Source: https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/prensa/201006nphojaderutah2_tcm30-513813.pdf
This translation was produced by a machine, no liability is accepted for errors or mistakes.
