---EFE-Alberto-Diaz.jpg)
The 3rd National Green Hydrogen Congress, held in Huelva and attended by institutional and business representatives from the sector, highlighted that green hydrogen is becoming a valuable means for Spain to promote energy independence in an efficient and sustainable way.
The National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) of Spain establishes that renewable hydrogen is a pillar for decarbonization, and sets a target to develop 12 GW of electrolyzers by 2030. To this end, it proposes a Roadmap with over 100 measures that regulate everything from its production to its storage, without ignoring support for innovation and financing.
Specifically, at the plenary session of the National Congress titled “Siemens Energy: Success stories in H2” moderated by José Miguel Macho, head of business development at Siemens Energy, the progress and demands of this industry were analyzed.
Manuel Larrasa, Secretary General of Energy of the Regional Government of Andalusia, opened the event by defending the Andalusian Regional Government’s management, highlighting the implementation of four decrees to simplify regulations, which, according to him, have led to an increase from 6 gigawatts of installed renewable energy capacity to 17.4 GW in six years. "Of all the projects that have come in, only 35% have fallen through—referring to the percentage of projects that have continued their development phase and those that did not," stated Larrasa.
The Secretary-General insisted that this success is due to close coordination with all the regional ministries, since for the Andalusian Government hydrogen only makes sense if it is understood as part of an industrial value chain: "The electrolyzer makes no sense if an ecosystem is not really created. We have reached a position, in terms of generation power, that allows us to be fully competitive.”
From molecule to market for green hydrogen
From the developers' perspective, Joaquín Rodríguez Jadraque, Director of Hydrogen and Clean Energy at Moeve, thanked the Andalusian government for its support: "The hydrogen project does not begin and end with the electrolyzer, but rather it originates from a renewable power plant, whether photovoltaic or wind power, which must be transported via a cable to the connection point," he emphasized.
Moeve's representative, who leads the Andalusian Valley of Green Hydrogen, emphasized that "the demand for renewable hydrogen not only drives decarbonization, but it strengthens energy independence and supply security." In the current context, this is more important than ever.
Regarding the cost, Rodríguez launched a clear message: "Green hydrogen’s impact, whether in a house being built or in a car made with green steel, in no circumstances exceeds 2%." For this reason, he has suggested that a good measure could be the creation of carbon footprint labeling, so that products with this label can benefit from better tax treatment, such as a reduction in VAT, something that, in his opinion, could create an "enormous" effect on demand.
For his part, Manuel Kuehn, head of sales at Siemens Energy, wanted to make clear that one of the major controversies surrounding electrolyzers was thinking that we could easily scale it, since the technology is one hundred years old. "We have never applied it in that size or with intermittent renewables. We are not yet at the end of the learning curve," he warned.
Kuehn explained that the German company is prioritizing projects of between 100 and 300 megawatts, which they currently consider to be the "optimal point”. Among their arguments is that they have confidence in bringing technologies to the market that really work.
The European framework and geopolitics
The discussion also addressed the European RED III directive and technological sovereignty. Along these lines, Teresa Rasero, president of Air Liquide Spain, has pointed out that the focus should shift from investment (CAPEX) to operational cost (OPEX): "It is not a coincidence that we talk so much about the Netherlands; they have made decisions to make that recurring expense easier to close. We need measures that encourage the hydrogen tree to fly," he stated, before calling for a "simplification" of the European regulatory framework.
In light of this issue, Joaquín Rodríguez Jadraque described the current draft of RED III as "pragmatic and simple to understand", by setting sales volume targets in road transport; so for him, it is "a reasonable horizon" with clear targets and an immediate use of hydrogen.
Likewise, Kuehn pointed out that the geopolitical context implies protecting the European value chain as soon as possible: "If we do not manage to build the valleys of Europe on a large global scale, we risk losing our place in the world in this technology." Finally, Teresa Rasero took advantage of this line of thinking to make a new call for regulatory flexibility.
The National Green Hydrogen Congress is one of the main international gatherings of the renewable hydrogen industry, bringing together companies, administrations, and experts from Europe, Latin America, and Asia to discuss the future of the energy transition surrounding this technology. In the three editions held, more than 1,400 professionals and 450 participating companies have contributed their ideas to grow a sector that is in full expansion.