- Senior political and business leaders from across Europe and Spain have gathered in Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, to support the construction of the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. The facility will have 300 MW of electrolysis capacity, represent a joint investment of more than €1 billion, and generate an employment impact of more than 8,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the value chain.
- Moeve, with a majority 51% stake, welcomes Hy24, the world's largest clean hydrogen private equity asset manager, and COFIDES Spain’s public-private finance institution, as partners in the first phase, Onuba, joining Enagás Renovable and Alter Enersun.
- With an investment of €2.4 billion, Moeve is anchoring from Huelva the development of the largest green molecules hub in Europe’s energy sector, integrating this first green hydrogen plant and a second-generation (2G) biofuels plant. These are two of the four largest industrial projects currently under construction in Spain.
Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain, who attended the event alongside Sara Aagesen, Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge: “The Government of Spain is supporting this transformation. But we are doing more than that: we have made renewable hydrogen a true national priority. At a time when very few believed in it, we believed in it, mobilizing the expertise of the Spanish public administration and the resources of the Next Generation EU funds. We have done so, on the one hand, through measures aimed at creating a market and stimulating demand, introducing mandatory minimum targets for emissions reductions and the uptake of renewable fuels across all modes of transportation. Our goal is to provide investment certainty, expand supply, and facilitate the development of industrial projects across the country. On the other hand, we have already allocated more than €3 billion to more than 120 renewable hydrogen projects. Moeve’s project has received more than €300 million in public funding”.
Juanma Moreno Bonilla, President of the Regional Government of Andalusia: “The construction of the most powerful symbol of all begins here, one that sends a clear message to the world: Andalusia and Spain are ready and fully equipped to play a leading role in the ‘revolution’ toward the clean energy the planet needs". Along these lines, Moreno highlighted the leadership Andalusia has been demonstrating in the field of clean energy: “We have both an enormous opportunity and a great responsibility in our hands to turn Andalusia into Europe’s leading hub for the production and export of renewable hydrogen.”
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition: “The recognition of this plant as a Project of Common Interest by the EU reflects its strategic importance and contribution to the transformation of our energy system. The energy transition should not be viewed as a cost to industry, but as an opportunity to make it stronger, more innovative and more autonomous. For this reason, the start of construction of the Onuba project is very good news for Andalusia, Spain and Europe as a whole.”
“Once again, we are turning ambition into tangible reality. Today, we are turning the page on green hydrogen pilot projects towards the chapter of large-scale construction. The Onuba project reinforces Spain’s position at the forefront of Europe’s sustainable energy production and represents a decisive step towards a more competitive and energy-independent Europe.”
Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve
Moeve has celebrated the start of construction of the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen project, with an event in Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, that brought together senior representatives from the Spanish Government, the European Commission, the Regional Government of Andalusia, the municipalities of Palos de la Frontera and Huelva, as well as business leaders involved with and supporting the project. Their presence underscored the strategic importance of this pioneering initiative, which aims to help establish a new renewable hydrogen market and position Spain at the forefront of the sector globally.
“Onuba” is the name for the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. Located at Moeve's Energy Park in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), Onuba will have an initial 300 MW of electrolysis capacity, with the option to expand by an additional 105 MW. The project represents a joint investment of more than €1 billion, including associated infrastructure and the development of a dedicated photovoltaic plant for self-consumption. During the development, construction and commissioning phases, it is expected to generate more than 8,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the value chain and support the economic activity of more than 400 local SMEs and self-employed businesses.
The project, led by Moeve with a majority 51% stake, benefits from a strong shareholder structure that combines industrial and financial expertise through the participation of Hy24, the world's largest clean hydrogen private equity asset manager, and COFIDES, Spain's public-private finance institution, as strategic partners with a combined 29% stake. The remaining 20% is jointly held by Enagás Renovable, one of Europe’s leading developers of renewable gas projects, and Alter Enersun, a company dedicated to the development of renewable electricity generation facilities.
The facility will be capable of producing approximately 45,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually, avoiding around 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year, equivalent to the emissions generated by the internal combustion vehicle fleets of the cities of Huelva, Cádiz and Jaén.1 The hydrogen will be used to support the more sustainable production of fuels for road, aviation and maritime transport, while also helping to decarbonize other industries.
The new plant will deploy advanced technological solutions that will help shape the emerging hydrogen market while redefining energy engineering standards as the company's first digitally-native facility. From the design stage, the installation incorporates a digital twin and a unified data and IoT platform, laying the foundations for safer, more efficient and predictive operations.
This first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley has been designated by the European Union as a Project of Common Interest (PCI) and has secured €304 million in funding from the Spanish Government under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed by the European Union through NextGenerationEU. The funding forms part of the Renewable Hydrogen Valleys support program and will support the development of 405 MW within the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley.
A leading European green molecules energy hub
With Onuba, Moeve is taking a major step forward in delivering its Positive Motion transformation strategy. The company is deploying a total investment of €2.4 billion in Andalusia in energy transition projects, including this green hydrogen plant and a new second-generation (2G) biofuels facility, which will begin producing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable HVO diesel next year. Together, these projects will make Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) home to Europe's largest green molecules energy hub and a benchmark for industrial transformation, with two of the four largest industrial projects currently under construction in Spain.
The Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, Europe's largest renewable hydrogen energy project, is designed to deliver 2 GW of electrolysis capacity across Moeve's Energy Parks in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque (Cádiz). The project positions Andalusia as a strategic region for leading the production of green molecules, thanks to its availability of land, world-class port infrastructure and climatic conditions that enable renewable electricity generation at significantly lower costs than in northern Europe. These advantages are helping transform the region into an international hub for hydrogen innovation and technological expertise.
Green molecules: a solution to halve Europe's energy dependence
Green molecules enable the decarbonization of hard-to-electrify sectors, including heavy industry, chemicals and long-distance transport. This strengthens Europe's competitiveness and energy autonomy at a time when the security of energy supply has become a strategic priority. A recent report by Moeve and PwC found that green molecules could halve Europe's external energy dependence by 2040.
According to the report, the growing role of green molecules, such as renewable hydrogen, 2G biofuels and biomethane, could replace up to 50% of Europe's current fossil fuel demand by 2050, account for one-third of the continent's energy mix and reduce CO2 emissions by 22%.
1 The calculation of the passenger-car equivalence has been carried out based on the official emission factors of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and on data from the passenger-car fleet in Spain published by the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), in accordance with their official reports and statistical databases.
