The government delegate in Aragón, Fernando Beltrán, together with the government subdelegate in Huesca, Carlos Campo, has visited the lands where the green hydrogen plant Hysencia is planned to be built, which is promoted by the company DH2 Energy in Plasencia del Monte (Huesca). This project was selected last year at the first European auction of the European Hydrogen Bank, so it will receive 8 million euros from the EU Innovation Fund.

The Director of Renewable Hydrogen Projects in Spain of DH2 Energy, Raquel Fernández Corzo, has informed Beltrán of the next steps facing the project, which go through the start of the construction work of the plant during the first half of 2025.

The Hysencia plant, with 35 MW of electrolysis capacity, 49 MWp of photovoltaic power and 10 MW of electricity network support, is one of the first and most advanced commercial renewable hydrogen production projects in Spain. In the construction phase, the company plans to generate about 100 direct and 50 indirect jobs; once in operation, the plant will employ about 15 people. In terms of its relevance in the fight against climate change, Hysencia will prevent the emission of around 100,000 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in the next 10 years.

Beltrán stressed that “Spain is a leader in attracting aid from the European Union Innovation Fund, with 1.286 billion euros”. In the case of Aragon, two initiatives related to green hydrogen, Hysencia, in Plasencia del Monte, and Catalina, in Andorra, have added 238 million in the first auction of the Hydrogen Bank. The delegate recalled that this EU Innovation Fund has as a reference point in our country, for its guidance, monitoring and dissemination, the Climate Change Office of the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

Beltrán has highlighted the strategic nature of these projects for Aragón and for the province of Huesca in particular, since “this green hydrogen will be able to provide different logistics projects under way and make our country gain in energy independence, at a time of great complexity in the fuel markets”. In this regard, he recalled that, as early as 2023, the FCH2Rail project, a consortium involving, among others, Renfe and Adif to create a hydrogen-powered railway, was successfully tested on the Zaragoza–Canfranc line.

Bet on hydrogen

The government delegate in Aragon pointed out that “the Spanish government’s commitment to this energy vector was established in the Hydrogen Road Map approved by the Council of Ministers in 2020, where it was already established that this renewable fuel would be the spearhead for a sustainable economy of high added value.”

With this objective, the Spanish Government, through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, has allocated 121 million euros to Aragón in support of eight hydrogen projects, among which stand out Ver-Armonia of EDP and Tervalis in Teruel, with 53 million euros, and Green Hydrogen of Endesa in Magallón (Zaragoza), with 28 million euros.