- Denis Itxaso highlights that, with this support, “the Government of Spain is once again giving new impetus to the Basque hydrogen corridor”
- The twelve projects selected add an electrolysis power of 309 MW and will mobilize an investment of more than 500 million
- This second IDAE call republishes the success of the first one in promoting unique and pioneering proposals to produce and consume green hydrogen in sectors of difficult decarbonization
- All beneficiary projects include industrial applications and five contemplate uses of green hydrogen in heavy mobility
The Government of Spain will allocate 13,254,489.18 euros to a Basque hydrogen production and use project located in the Port of Bilbao. An important injection of money as highlighted by the government delegate, Denis Itxaso. “The Spanish Government is once again giving new impetus to the Basque hydrogen corridor, in this case focused on the heavy mobility of the future and also on the transport of people.” The European Next Generations funds continue to have a very positive impact on some of the most ambitious projects that the Basque Country is carrying out in the field of energy”.
Itxaso details that this contribution of the recovery, transformation and resilience plan “provides more than 13 million euros to a truly innovative renewable hydrogen project undertaken in Ciérvena by a consortium made up of Petronor, IBIL and freight and passenger transport companies”.
In total, twelve new projects for the production and joint use of renewable hydrogen in the industry, heavy transport and other sectors of difficult decarbonization will receive the 150 million euros of the second call of H2 Pioneers, according to the final resolution proposal made public by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). This aid line, designed to boost innovative initiatives to demonstrate the viability of new business models based on green hydrogen and activate the market, republishes the great success of the first edition, which last April also exhausted the available funding, another 150 million for 19 projects.
Financed with NextGenEU funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), the H2 Pioneers program is part of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of Renewable Energy, Renewable Hydrogen and Storage (PERTE ERHA).
In the resolution of this second call, the 12 projects best valued by the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE), manager of the program, share an integrated approach to the production of green hydrogen by electrolysis from renewable sources and its consumption in industrial activities and processes in a nearby location; either in direct use in substitution of grey hydrogen or natural gas, in transformation to ammonia or methanol, or as fuel for the transport and decarbonization of stationary uses in port environments.
HEAVY MOBILITY AND PORTS
Among the final consumers of hydrogen there are food companies, chemical industry, ceramics, maritime transport or airport facilities, among others. Five of the initiatives chosen in competitive competition incorporate applications in heavy mobility. In particular, aid is granted for the implementation of three hydropower plants, the purchase of nine hydrogen-powered heavy vehicles and the adaptation of forklifts from logistics centers, to operate with renewable hydrogen.
Three other selected proposals will undertake actions that will be developed in locations associated with the ports of Bilbao, Gijón and Seville. And ten of the projects are located in areas of Just Transition and/or Demographic Challenge, which represents 84% of the aid awarded. By autonomous communities, Andalusia (3), Aragon (2) and Castilla-La Mancha (2) are the best represented. The others are located in Navarre, Euskadi, Catalonia, Galicia and Asturias.
Overall, the result of this call – still subject to the acceptance of aid by beneficiaries – translates into an increase in the electrolysis power of 309 MW. The 12 proposals selected add up to a eligible cost of 502.2 million euros and mobilise a total investment of 578.14 million euros.
LARGER PROJECTS
As a noteworthy feature, in this second call the power limit has been extended to 50 MW, which, together with the natural evolution of the sector, leads to the average size of the projects being greater than in the first call of H2 Pioneers. In addition, most have a renewable energy installation directly connected to the electrolyser and a large number of projects also have a connection to the electricity network and PPA agreements with renewable electricity producers to ensure a high number of hours of operation of the electrolyser.
The maximum aid per project is 15 million – with a minimum investment threshold of 1 million – and will be implemented as a grant to be received by the beneficiary, definitively, once the execution of the project is verified and the eligible costs incurred are accredited.
The promoters of the projects awarded the grants are mostly single beneficiaries and in three files there are business groups that include the participation of SMEs, as required in the bases of the call. The award criteria have also weighed the effectiveness of public aid, the positive impact in areas of Fair Transition and Demographic Challenge, the reduction of emissions and circular economy, job creation and gender equality. The projects selected must respect the principle of “not causing significant harm” to the environment.
More detailed information about the H2 PIONEERS program on the IDAE website.
H2 RENEWABLE: A COUNTRY PROJECT
The grants regulated by this call are framed in Component 9 ‘Road map of renewable hydrogen and its sectoral integration’ of the PRTR and, in particular, in its Investment 1: ‘Renewable hydrogen: a country project’. This is one of the main calls for PERTE ERHA, a complete program of instruments and measures to develop technology, knowledge, industrial capabilities and new business models that strengthen the position of Spain’s leadership in the field of clean energy.
EL PERTE ERHA will mobilize an investment of more than 16.3 billion, between contributions from the Recovery Plan and private funds. In general, financial support will be granted through competitive bids to select the best projects.
In addition, the deployment of this aid mechanism advances the achievement of the objectives of the Hydrogen Roadmap, a strategic document to promote renewable hydrogen. Among other objectives, it aims to achieve an electrolysis power of 300 MW to 600 MW in 2024 and 4 GW in 2030, 10% of the Community objective, which demonstrates the ambition of our country to be a fundamental actor within the European context.