Spanish oil and gas company Compañía Española de Petróleos (Cepsa) will invest in 2 GW worth green hydrogen projects in Spain targeting 300,000 tons of green hydrogen annually, powered by 3 GW wind and solar power capacity to decarbonize industry, and heavy land, air and maritime transport 'in Europe, for Europe'.
"The Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley is a groundbreaking project whose 2 GW capacity is 10 times bigger than the largest under construction in Europe today," stated Cepsa CEO Maarten Wetselaar.
Calling it the company's biggest milestone as part of its 2030 Positive Motion strategy through which it targets green hydrogen production and sustainable mobility, Cepsa said the project will be the largest green hydrogen hub in Europe.
The 2 GW capacity will be spread out as 2 projects of 1 GW each in Palos de La Frontera (Huelva), next to its La Rabida Energy Park, and its San Roque Energy Park in Cadiz. While the Huelva plant is planned to come online in 2026 and reach full capacity in 2028, the Cadiz facility will be operational in 2027.
Wind and solar energy portfolio of 3 GW needed to power the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley project will cost an additional investment of €2 billion. Cepsa said it will also collaborate with other renewable energy producers to promote their integration into the electricity system.
Andalusia's ports of Algeciras and Huelva are connected to the main ports of Europe and the world which works well for this green hydrogen supply to rest of the continent and also to Asia and Africa.
Cepsa believes this will be a 'mobilizing project' to attract investments in the hydrogen value chain in Spain boosting economic activity of more than 400 SMEs.
Spain targets 4 GW of electrolyzer capacity worth €8.9 billion to come online in the country by 2030 under its Hydrogen Roadmap with 25% of power to be supplied for industrial consumption, and remaining to 5,000 to 7,000 light and heavy vehicles and 2 commercial train lines along with 150 to 200 hydro generators for public use, according to Cepsa.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez remarked, "This investment will help Spain achieve its goal to become an energy exporting country, with the first European green hydrogen corridor between the Campo de Gibraltar and the Dutch Port of Rotterdam."
Green hydrogen is big in European Union's scheme of things in the bloc's energy transition and security in the future. Under its Hydrogen Strategy, Clean Hydrogen Alliance will target up to 120 GW solar and wind capacity to help produce green hydrogen (see European Commission Launches Hydrogen Strategy).