Spain aims to position itself as the world’s first major green hydrogen hub and to lead what could become a new energy revolution focused on decarbonisation. Energy and industry groups have already created a substantial flow of investment, with nearly a hundred projects for producing renewable hydrogen based on electricity from renewables across the country. The government has mapped out a network of extensive pipeline corridors to move this green gas both domestically and toward Europe.
With commercial projects in the pipeline and the massive investment required for building large hydro canal infrastructure, Spain is launching its first major market test to quantify what this shift could mean. There is genuine interest from energy companies in producing green hydrogen and from large industries that would consume it.
Enagás, the manager of Spain’s gas system and the operator of the nation’s gas-pipeline network, is preparing to activate the process. The aim is to temporarily measure the supply and demand for green hydrogen for the first time. The presence of green hydrogen in the Spanish market could reveal how willing energy firms and industry players are to use the main corridors planned for transport in the coming years. Next week, Enagás will unveil the properties and targets of the macrotest to hydrogen producers, industrial users, energy traders, and market intermediaries.
X-ray of the future explosion
Following the public briefing, the testing window will open on September 22 and run for two months. A call for attention invites manufacturers and consumers to submit non-binding offers to utilize the proposed pipeline network. While not binding on participants at this stage, it will establish the initial hydrogen supply and demand matching mechanism in Spain’s market.
A clearer picture is needed to identify where opportunities for renewable hydrogen production and consumption lie in Spain, notes Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, CEO of Enagás, at the VIII Energy Forum organized by El Economista. He adds that the early projects should be reviewed to obtain more precise timelines, trading information, and indicative prices. The group will announce the results of this first rate call in the first quarter of the upcoming year.
Acquisition of pipeline customers
A new phase will soon open to receive binding offers from companies throughout 2024. This open season will mark the practical start of attracting customers for future hydrogen transport corridors. It represents a pre-sale of capacity to move hydrogen from production hubs to industrial centres where it will be consumed.
Green hydrogen produced from renewable electricity is expected to transform sectors where direct electrification is difficult, becoming a major upheaval in the energy sector within a few years as it displaces natural gas with emission-free green gas.
Hydrogen tanks image caption: Hydrogen storage tanks.
Enagás has worked for years on designing what is termed the Spanish hydrogen backbone, a system of major internal transport corridors and international connections valued at around €7,000 million. Planned expansions will accelerate the production and demand for green hydrogen, which produces no CO2 when generated with renewable electricity, driving growing market interest.
Interior corridors and H2Med
The ongoing market test seeks to gauge interest in using Spain’s internal pipeline network to transport hydrogen. Spain plans to construct two large internal green hydrogen corridors and has petitioned the European Commission to recognize them as green hydrogen transport projects. These are designated as projects of common interest, which would enable them to access European funds for the required investments.
One corridor links Huelva to Puertollano, Zamora, and Gijón, while another connects Gijón, Barcelona, and Cartagena. Additionally, the administration is pursuing EU funding to build two underground hydrogen storage facilities in salt caverns located in Cantabria and the Basque Country. Enagás estimates the domestic facilities will require around €4.670 billion in investment.
The inner corridor network will transport hydrogen between production sites and consumption hubs and will also feed into Europe’s broader link. Spain, France, and Portugal have agreed to promote the first major hydrogen corridor within the European Union and later invited Germany to join the initiative. A major project named H2Med is planned to invest nearly €2.5 billion, with the full vision extending beyond a single extension.
The original plan, agreed by Madrid, Paris, and Lisbon, proposed a two-section corridor intended to be operational between 2028 and 2030. One section would connect Spain with Portugal (Celorico da Beira and Zamora) with an investment of around €350 million, and the other would connect France (between Barcelona and Marseille) with an underwater section costing around €2.135 billion. After adding Berlin, the corridor would extend through French territory into Germany, with the aim of distributing the network to other northern and central European countries.
One hundred projects
Spanish groups have laid out plans for 94 green hydrogen production plants before 2030, totaling nearly 200 kilolitres in electrolyzer capacity, supported by roughly 17,200 MW of power, according to data from the Hydrogen Studies lead at the Pontifical University Comillas. The combined portfolio surpasses the target established by the Ministry of Ecological Transition by a substantial margin as outlined in the new version of the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), led by Vice-President Teresa Ribera.
The refreshed green mega-plan envisions Spain reaching 2030 with the electrolysis capacity to produce about 11,000 MW of green hydrogen. This target nearly triples the modest 4,000 MW outlined in the earlier Hydrogen Roadmap.