The prospects for green hydrogen in Europe are promising, with big projects and companies involved. Spain is presented as the great nucleus of the renewable molecule and, with the projects already announced, the country will become the main producer of hydrogen by electrolysis, the process that produces the fuel with low emissions. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Europe will be the leading producing region in the world with 25% by 2030 and, within the Old Continent, theSpain will be the most producing country, with 20% of low-emission production.
The IEA estimates that the region will produce between 8 and 5 million tonnes per year by 2030 – depending on the speed of progress of the announced projects – leaving Spain with an annual bill of between 1 and 1.6 million tonnes per year. The countries that follow Spain in terms of planned capacity by the end of the decade are Denmark, with 12%, and theGermany, with 10%.
LSpain has 107 hydrogen, ammonia or biomethane projects, among other renewable gases, more thanItaly (33) and the France (63) combined, according to IEA calculations. Among these projects, only 12 are operational in Spain and seven more are expected to start this year.
Un e-MTB haut de gamme qui redéfinit l’expérience du VTT électrique
Spain’s big attraction comes from renewable energy. The country has a large number of renewable energies – which already represent almost 50% of bunch energy, according to data from Red Eléctrica – which reduces the production cost of raw materials. This makes the electrolyzers more competitive for the production of the renewable molecule and other inputs, such as green ammonia, which can be processed to convert it into hydrogen.
This situation contrasts with the price outlook for green hydrogen in developing countries. ‘Central Europe, where it is more expensive to produce although it is the most industrialized region of the continent and therefore the potential customer for this fuel.
According to the calculations of think tank Bruegel, the cost of hydrogen in countries like Germany is twice as high as in Spain: from 5.8 euros per kilogram of hydrogen (euros/kg) in Spain to 11.62 euros/kg in Germany. This difference is found in other Central European countries.
This is why large national companies, like Iberdrola or Cepsa, and international companies, such as the Chinese Trina Solar or Hygreen, are banking on local hydrogen production and on alliances for his transportation subsequent to industrial centers. Likewise, projects such as the connection between Barcelona and Marseille, promoted by Enagás, GRTgaz and Terega, which aims to facilitate the transport of raw materials to the north of the Pyrenees, are also being developed.
Where is the demand for green hydrogen?
Global forecasts are for demand to soar, but the IEA warns it may not be able to keep up with the massive deployment of the fuel. The objectives of consumption of governments amount to 43 million tonnes per year by 2030, and with the announced projects alone, the IEA expects that 49 million tonnes are placed on the market.
On the other hand, on the few 91,000 million euros of political aid for the adoption of hydrogen announced by the various executives last year, Aid on supply is 50% higher than that on demand, they warn.
Ce scooter électrique rivalise avec les 125 cm³ tout en offrant un design premium
Europe faces winter with gas reserves running out of steam
Spain and Europe will face next winter with full gas reserves. According to data from the Bruegel Economic Observatory, at the beginning of October, Spain had 100% of its gas storage capacity, while the EU had 94%. Only Portugal and Romania (with 104% and 101% respectively) have larger stocks than Spain.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries have increased their gas purchases to store it, because the possibility of winters with very low temperatures could increase consumption.
In this sense, Spain has 34 TWh of accumulated capacity, which is little compared to two countries highly dependent on gas, such asGermany, which has 96% of its storage capacity and 255 TWh of capacity, or theItaly, which has 96% of its storage capacity and 197 TWh of accumulated energy. In total, the EU stores 1,081 TWh of gas. This is the second year in a row that the EU-27 has managed to exceed the 90% target fixed in advance for November 1st. With this percentage, the EU-27 can cover a third of its gas demand for the winter, according to Euronews.