The three large Spanish electricity companies add 53,000 million euros in some 360 projects linked to the European Next Generation funds that the Government must approve.
To the 21,000 million that Iberdrola proposes to mobilize in 150 initiatives, 110 of Endesa are added for a value of 19,000 million and another hundred of Naturgy for 13,000 million.
Hydrogen and sustainable mobility are configured as the main bets of these investments, which pursue three objectives: the energy transition, decarbonisation and digitization.
Other companies, especially SMEs, also participate in them.
Last December, the Government launched a call for expressions of interest to identify initiatives in the industrial competitiveness and sustainability program to contribute to the green and digital transition.
These actions are considered as tractor projects with long-term effects, carried out in a cooperative manner, involving the entire industrial value chain, with the backbone of the territory and the involvement of private initiative, with an impact on SMEs.
In total, nine expressions of interest have been published, related to the just energy transition, the fight against depopulation, strategic projects for economic recovery and transformation, mobility and the circular economy.
The three major electricity groups are committed to this energy and digital transition and have presented 360 projects so far, in which hydrogen takes on a special role, along with renewable energy and storage technologies.
Iberdrola's ambitious program amounts to 21,000 million, of which about 8,000 would come from European funds.
Other projects include the one developed with Irizar for electric buses and 53 green hydrogen buses with more than 50 industrial companies and a budget of more than 2,400 million for the installation of up to one gigawatt (GW) of electrolysers.
Endesa estimates that of the 19,000 million in investment calculated, 16,000 would fall into the category of expressions of interest and, of these, it hopes that 5,000 will be contributed by community funds.
In a scenario of maximums, in which all projects received the green light, they would be executed in the next three years (2021, 2022 and 2023) with an impact of 215,000 jobs, 13.6 million annual tons of CO2 avoided and 21,650 million of contribution to GDP.
The projects are distributed in energy transition in extrapeninsular territories (3,100 million) and peninsular (2,100);
smart grids (3,000);
sustainable transport (2,200);
rehabilitation of buildings and efficiency (4,000) and hydrogen (2,000).
In this segment are 430 megawatts (MW) of electrolyzers and 2,000 MW of associated renewable power.
It participates in an international consortium led by Enel Green Power for a 100 MW hydrogen plant in Castellón for the ceramic industry.
Naturgy has identified investment opportunities worth 13,000 million, related to a hundred projects, although it does not quantify what would come from the funds.
The largest part is taken by investments in renewables (6,200 million) and hydrogen and biomethane (3,870).
The remainder corresponds to digitization (1,400);
energy rehabilitation (1,300);
just transition (650) and sustainable mobility and others (175).
Some of the most notable projects are the start-up of hydrogen and oxygen plants from electrolysis in the surroundings of Meirama (A Coruña) and La Robla (León), whose thermal plants are due to be closed, as well as that of Asturias at the El Musel plant.
Likewise, in collaboration with Enagás, it is promoting a plant in León with a production of 9,000 tons per year of renewable hydrogen.
It also proposes the installation of several biomethane production plants and the construction of two
hydrogen production
hubs
in the Valencian Community: one for the ceramic industry with the Ascer and Anffec associations and another with seven partners to develop IPCEI Orange Bat, which aims to introduce hydrogen into vehicles, cranes and other infrastructures of the Port of Valencia.
The company estimates that it can achieve a reduction of 8.3 tons of CO2 per year thanks to the new green impulse in projects related to the decarbonisation of mobility such as the development of private and public infrastructures for the availability of charging points for electric vehicles and hydrogeneration and gas station network structures.
The company has signed agreements with the passenger transport companies Grupo Ruiz and Transgunon to evaluate the viability of hydrogen mobility projects.
Aerotaxis
Repsol, in its new commitment to electricity, also wants to participate in circular economy projects and eco-fuel production (with a production capacity of 1.3 million tons in 2025 and more than two million in 2030).
The decarbonisation objectives include an important commitment to hydrogen, a sector in which it plans to reach an equivalent production of 400 MW and 1.2 GW in 2025 in 2025. In this sense, it has announced the production of synthetic fuels with zero net emissions in the world from renewable hydrogen;
the construction of a gas generation plant from urban waste that will be used to replace part of the consumption of traditional fuels at the Petronor Basque refinery and will build the first advanced biofuel production plant in Spain in Cartagena.
The group has not disclosed the figure or the projects.
However, last January, the H24All consortium presented to develop the first 100 MW alkaline electrolyzer in Europe to install in Petronor.
Repsol is today the leading producer and consumer of hydrogen in Spain.
Currently, the company is promoting different technological options to competitively generate renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, in line with its decarbonisation objectives.
Acciona elevated around 30 projects (it has as many underway) also focused on hydrogen, energy efficiency and the circular economy.
Ferrovial moves in the same coordinates, which has presented a score of initiatives worth 1,500 million.
The group seeks aid for the rehabilitation of housing and urban spaces, decarbonization of the cement industry, biotechnology, electrification of the mobile fleet and the so-called
vertiports
to develop aerotaxis services in 20 airports.
