The Hydrogen Stream: Spanish government allocates €1.2 billion for renewable H2 clusters

The Spanish government allocated €1.2 billion ($1.26 billion) for seven green hydrogen clusters concentrated in Aragon and Andalusia. Meanwhile, an EU consortium started its work to develop diagnostic and monitoring tools for water electrolyzers.

The Spanish government has published the provisional call for grants for large renewable hydrogen valleys in the country. The government wants to allocate €1.2 billion ($1.24 billion) of NextGenEU funds to seven projects in Aragon, Andalusia, Castile and Leon, Catalonia, and Galicia. “The seven beneficiaries of the H2 Valles program propose developments with a total electrolysis capacity of 2,278 MW for the production of renewable hydrogen in 11 separate facilities, as the terms of the call allow more than one site per cluster if the distance between them is less than 100 km,” explained the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco). The majority of the funds will target Aragon and Andalusia.  

Enapter has received an order of 2.5 MW from an unnamed chemical and medical company operating in Italy, which is planning to build a hydrogen production plant for refueling and industrial applications. In addition, SOL, Grastim, and Magic Motor Sport, have each placed orders for a 1 MW electrolyzer AEM Nexus 1000. These three will be deployed as part of Italy's state-sponsored “Hydrogen Valley” initiative. “Our order backlog is very well filled and continues to grow dynamically,” said Jürgen Laakmann, the CEO of the German electrolyzer manufacturer.

A consortium of eight European institutions launched the Delycious research project to develop advanced diagnostic and monitoring tools for water electrolyzers. The project, co-funded by the European Union, aims to achieve “over 95% fault detection and isolation (FDI) while limiting the cost of the monitoring and diagnostic system to no more than 3% of the total system cost,” partner ETA Florence told pv magazine. The project will continue till December 2027, with a €4 million ($4.18 million) budget. “By 2035, it is projected that 10% of water electrolysis capacity installed in the EU will utilize Delycious technology,” said the consortium, which includes Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy Systems (IWES) and Air Liquide.

Axpo will join the MatcH2 digital platform, a new digital platform designed to bring together participants in the hydrogen market. “The platform will show the available amount of green hydrogen molecules and thus strengthen the confidence of potential customers in a reliable source of supply,” said Axpo's Hydrogen Market & Pricing Manager, Michael Limacher.