Energy system

Extremadura will promote the investment of a total of 10,000 million euros in green hydrogen and as a result, 2,500 jobs are expected to be generated in the process.

The President of the Extremadura Regional Government, Guillermo Fernández Vara, sets as feasible objective to reach a 20% of the national share of the green hydrogen generation, for the hydrogen produced in Extremadura in year 2030. In this way, 3 gigawatts (GW) of electrolysis out of a total of 16 could be developed in the region.

This would place Extremadura as leader in green hydrogen, as is already the case with photovoltaics, whose objective of reaching a 20 percent of the national production has already been achieved.

This objective for green hydrogen production, is part of a public-private action protocol that the Extremadura Regional Government has signed on the 17^th of January 2023 together with the CEO of ENAGAS, Arturo Gonzalo Aizpiri, in order to promote and develop the transport and storage for renewable hydrogen and its derivatives in Extremadura.

Green hydrogen has the main advantage of being generated with zero net emissions and has also the potential to be produced in the EU itself, which is why the Union has set as a priority to bring forward the deadlines, not only for its production, but also for its use.

During the formal presentation of the signed protocol, it was stated that the gas transport infrastructure in Extremadura will indeed be part of the H2MED European hydrogen corridor, which will allow to supply the bigger consumer markets in central Europe with hydrogen produced in Spain. This facility will thus count with institutional EU financial support. According to ENAGAS, gas transport companies are already working with other gas transporters from neighboring countries “to ensure that this EU financing will be available". The company CEO also asserted that the "availability of European resources will be guaranteed, but there will also be financing from hydrogen consumers through the establishment of long-term contracts, as well as through transport infrastructure use tolls”.

Excellent conditions and training

According to ENAGAS, Extremadura has excellent conditions to become an EU leader region in green hydrogen production, as a total of 420 km of hydrogen pipelines will run in parallel to the existent natural gas pipelines located on the region’s soil, counting with a main node in Almendralejo and the addition of a branch to Puertollano, an important industrial core in the neighboring region of Castilla-La Mancha.

According to the data provided by the CEO a total, 13,8% of the total national green hydrogen network would be located within Extremadura. “If Spain has the conditions to become the great green hydrogen hub in Europe, Extremadura has the conditions to be the great hydrogen HUB within Spain", as the CEO himself explained.

"That entails a total 10,000 million euros investment, 2.500 direct jobs and 20.000 jobs in the construction of the needed infrastructure" said Fernández Vara, who also pointed out that this action will involve taking another step in the commitment of the region in becoming a leader in the ecological transition and green revolution.

Mr Vara declared during the signing of the protocol that “Extremadura is ready to take on the challenge”, which translates into a specific training program, led by ENAGAS and the Extremadura University School of Industrial Engineering. The training involves all aspects related to renewable gases and will allow to count with well trained professionals in Extremadura.

The regional government has also committed itself to speed up the administrative processes as much as possible to allow green hydrogen production to become a reality as soon as possible, within a maximum timeframe of six or seven years, ahead of the objectives set by EU.

On the top of this all, the Regional Government of Extremadura has recently declared the production of green hydrogen in the region to be of general interest.