Spain aims to become the world’s first hub for renewable hydrogen. The country is preparing dozens of green hydrogen production facilities that run on grid electricity paired with renewable energy, minimizing carbon emissions. Industrial groups are exploring how to reuse production processes or position hydrogen as a fuel for all modes of transportation, while the government is promoting a broad network of hydrogen corridors at both domestic and international levels to move future energy forward.
The objective is to build an energy and industrial ecosystem that harmonizes with the environment. As part of the energy transition, Spain seeks to leverage European funding to support a fabric of research, development, production, and practical use cases for green hydrogen. The government has initiated five aid programs focused on green hydrogen projects, aligning with the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. This plan has seen demand outpace the original budget, underscoring strong interest from industry and public partners alike. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
triple the number of requests
The Ministry for Ecological Transformation has streamlined grant distribution through the Energy Diversification and Savings Institute, known as IDAE. A combined budget of 340 million euros was made available to help companies fund portions of their projects, yet there was an avalanche of requests totaling more than 1,100 million euros, more than three times the allocated amount according to publicly available documents analyzed by EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
Across five launched programs, four have concluded definitively and a fifth remains under review or subject to interim decisions. In total, 63 projects received grants, while more than 200 other initiatives were prioritized for subsidies through European funds tied to the Recovery Plan, which requires a thorough screening of applications. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
In the hydrogen (H2) project portfolio, the program with the largest budget—150 million euros—awarded subsidies to 19 projects, yet it attracted 746 million in aid requests, about five times the amount originally anticipated. Among the beneficiaries are Iberdrola, EDP, Cepsa, Enagás Renovable, and Redexis, with grants ranging roughly from four to fifteen million euros for projects that include green hydrogen production for the chemical industry or replacing natural gas in various industrial processes or heavy mobility. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
H2 value chain
The support plan for hydrogen value chain projects is organized into four tracks. Under Line 1, six initiatives were chosen to receive a total of 11.9 million euros in aid. These funds will support the construction of hydrogen production plants, energy storage systems, and test platforms for hydrogen technologies. Line 2 provided 37.52 million euros to twelve hydrogen-powered mobility projects led by groups such as Airbus with Talgo and Repsol, Alstom with Adif, Enagás with Repsol, and Destinus, which is developing hydrogen-powered aircraft with partners including the Destinus group. The line also mentions collaboration with Sener and other partners in related efforts. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
Spain seeks to shield consumers from H2Med costs by coordinating across the EU
Line 3 envisions distributing 100 million euros among seven projects, despite receiving 25 proposals totaling 353 million euros for the development and manufacture of large electrolyzers used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Grants of 15 million euros were awarded to each initiative, with beneficiaries including Endesa, Iberdrola, BP, Repsol (in partnership with Naturgy), EDP in five projects, and Cepsa or its partners in two. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
Line 4 anticipates 40 million euros for 19 projects after receiving 43 proposals seeking funding for research, innovation pilots, development, and staff training. Some proposals, including collaborations with Iberdrola, Siemens Gamesa, Hiperbaric, Acerinox, and Ingeteam, were identified as potential objectives for IDAE. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]
The government launched the strategic Recovery and Economic Transformation project (PERTE) last year. Committed to renewable energies and green hydrogen, it began with 6.9 billion euros in European funding and later expanded to 7.9 billion euros, with a goal to mobilize an additional 16 billion euros in private investment. As part of the plan, 1.555 billion euros in public funds are allocated to renewable hydrogen to mobilize around 2.8 billion euros of private capital, enabling Spain to play a meaningful role in the green hydrogen revolution. [Source: EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA]