The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has approved the granting of 233.4 million euros through the auction mechanism as a service (AaaS) to boost the production of renewable hydrogen in three projects located in Castilla-La Mancha and Galicia, promoted by Repsol and Doña Urraca Energy, which together reach an electrolysis capacity of 92.27 megawatts (MW).
In the case of Repsol, the aid is directed to the Atlas projects, in Arteixo (A Coruña), with an electrolysis capacity of 50 MW, and Puertollano Hydrogen Network, in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), with 12.27 MW. These initiatives have received grants of 133.394 and 49.791 million euros, respectively.
The third benefited project is Quixotgen, located in Villarrobledo (Albacete) and developed by Doña Urraca Energy, which will have 30 MW of electrolysis capacity and has obtained aid of 50.216 million euros.
The three projects were selected in the third general auction of the European Hydrogen Bank (IF25), but were excluded from community aid as the available budget in Brussels was exhausted.
To finance these initiatives, the Institute for Diversification and Energy Saving (IDAE), an agency dependent on the Ministry, launched last May the second state call for auctions as a service (AaaS), endowed with a maximum of 440.5 million euros from the European NextGenEU funds of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).
In all three cases, the IDAE has already issued the final resolution granting the aid. As there is still budgetary margin, the Ministry contemplates that other initiatives may be incorporated as beneficiaries if they formally accept to be transferred from the European Hydrogen Bank to the Spanish auction scheme as a service, as is the case with the AccionaPlug project in Zaragoza. To do this, they must be included in the reserve list of the auction “Innovation Fund IF25 Auction,” the department stated in a statement.
The incentives of this mechanism are structured as grants linked to the volume of hydrogen produced and certified as 100% renewable -RFNBO, according to the Renewable Energy Directive-, for a maximum period of 10 years from the start of operation, and always in projects that comply with the principle of not causing significant harm to the environment (DNSH) in all its phases.
220 million in the first national auction
In the first auction as a service held in Spain, three other national projects transferred from the general mechanism of the European Hydrogen Bank were awarded: “Orange-Bat” by SmartEnergy, in Onda (Castellón); “Elysenem-Numancia” in Garray (Soria) and “Acciona Plug Valle H2V Navarra” in Sangüesa (Navarra), which totaled 220.02 million euros in incentives.
The team led by Sara Aagesen emphasized that, thanks to these actions, the beneficiary companies will replace the use of fossil energy with hydrogen generated from renewable electricity, which will allow for the elimination of CO2 emissions. This is a new advance in the decarbonization of the Spanish industry, which will also help strengthen the country’s energy autonomy and reduce the consumption of conventional fuels.
This new state-level call is part of the Executive’s strategy to consolidate renewable hydrogen as a key technology in the decarbonization of industry, heavy transport, and other sectors with greater difficulties in cutting their emissions. At the same time, it promotes the deployment of the PERTE of Renewable Energies, Hydrogen, and Storage (ERHA).
With these aids, added to those from programs like H2 Pioneros, H2 Cadena de Valor, H2 Valles, and the various waves of IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest), the IDAE has already channeled nearly 3,000 million euros from the PRTR towards the development of green H2, considered a key piece in the decarbonization process and in the creation of a complete technological and industrial ecosystem, in line with the Renewable Hydrogen Roadmap and the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC).
