Million-dollar state subsidy for two green hydrogen projects in Catalonia

BarcelonaTwo projects of production of green hydrogen located in the Tarragona municipalities of Ascó and La Pobla de Mafumet have been provisionally selected in an aid grant announced this Friday by the Spanish government. According to the third vice president and minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, these initiatives were given the "green light" within the plan for valleys and hydrogen clusters, which is endowed with a total of 1,214 million euros from the Next Generation funds of the European Union. In the case of the Catalan projects, the grant plans to allocate a total of 236 million euros for plants that require a total investment of 617 million. Other green hydrogen projects from Galicia, Castilla y León and Aragón have also been selected.

The Ascó project is called HyBERUS and is being promoted jointly with the Aragonese municipalities of Casp and Fabara. It is expected to have an electrolysis capacity of 360 MWe. The total investment would be more than 303 million euros, of which the State plans to contribute more than 137. As for the Puebla de Mafumet project, which is called Tarragona Hydrogen Network (T-HYNET), it would have a capacity of 132.5 MWe and a total investment of 314 million euros. At a news breakfast in Madrid, the green hydrogen clusters and valleys project places the State as a benchmark in this sustainable energy. "It will allow progress in the decarbonisation of the sectors where it is more difficult," he assured before professionals in the sector. In fact, he has stressed that one of the particularities of the plan is that it seeks to ensure that the fuel is consumed very close to where it is generated.

A third of the PNIEC objective

Regarding the impact of the approved projects, Aagesen has pointed out that they will generate 4 GW of capacity, which represents 33% of the 12 GW set in the latest National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). In addition, the projects will move a total investment of 5,000 million euros and will create 9,000 direct jobs and 11,000 indirect jobs. "They will also generate ecosystems that will be consolidated, because we are talking about a sector of the present and the future, which is here to stay on this path towards decarbonisation," promised the vice president.

The minister has pointed out that it was a "long-awaited" call, to which 16 projects were submitted. Now a period for objections opens. Aagesen has said that it is an important call, not only because of the volume of resources assigned but because they generate more investment. "In addition, I believe that they will generate ecosystems that will be consolidated. We are talking about a sector of the present and the future. We are not talking about a technology that is here to go, but rather one that is here to stay on this path of decarbonisation," said the minister, who added that, likewise, 90 percent will be these seven electrolysers.

For Aagesen, renewable hydrogen is a "success story" for Spain and he has described the commitment to this energy as a "national project. "We are an especially attractive country, basically because we are more competitive in these renewable energies," he said. are key to the production of green hydrogen, which places the State in a good position due to its wind and photovoltaic production capacity.