The Spanish industrial sector bands together to press the government for stronger backing to safeguard competitiveness, ensure viability, and advance decarbonization efforts. Trade bodies across major industries warn that regulatory support remains limited and that financial aid approved during the darkest days of the energy crisis has been sparse and slow to disburse, with some funds only arriving this year. This situation contrasts with the substantial public assistance available to rivals in other European nations, the United States, and China.
To revive industrial activity, especially the offshored segments, policy support is essential. Public aid and regulatory mechanisms must help raise competitiveness in a sustainable way over the medium to long term, within a global landscape where ambitious programs and sizable public subsidies co-exist in key blocs such as China and the United States. This assessment comes from PwC in a report prepared for Sedigas, the gas sector federation, with participation from the associations of oil companies (AOP), steel (Unesid), ceramics (Ascer), chemicals (Feique), paper producers (Aspapel), the food and beverage industry (FIAB), and groups representing large gas users (GasIndustrial) and cogeneration industries (Acogen).
Industry associations comprising the major Spanish groups contend that production cannot rebound on its own. Immediate action from the government and other relevant bodies is needed to implement short, medium, and long-term support measures that bolster the industrial position in the Spanish economy. The aim is to raise the industrial share of GDP to around 20 percent, up from the current level of 17.6 percent, while driving the indispensable decarbonization of sectors. A decisive public commitment with more resources to back the decarbonization roadmap, particularly for renewable gases, is crucial to prevent investment relocation to other regions.
Invest in renewable gases
The gas sector advocates argue that expanding renewable gases is the most viable path to realizing a genuine energy transition for Spain’s large-scale industry. The strong national potential to produce biogas and green hydrogen stands as a significant competitive advantage compared with neighboring countries.
The PwC and Sedigas study highlights renewable gases as a future option that is both economically and technically feasible for heat-intensive industries, compared with full electrification. It also notes that natural gas will remain essential to support the transition. Industry federations view renewable gases as a major bet that can help meet decarbonization goals while strengthening competitiveness.
The study reviews the impact of the energy crisis, shifts in demand for industrial gas, and the decarbonization process across sectors such as refining, chemicals, ceramics, paper, food and beverage, and metals. Notably, 2022 saw a historic low in industrial gas demand, underscoring the vulnerability of energy-intensive sectors to external shocks.