What are the challenges facing the development of green hydrogen in Spain?
Hydrogen production technologies are being widely developed today because the most commonly used technology, water electrolysis, has been improved and analyzed for decades. The main problem in Spain, and perhaps worldwide, for the use of hydrogen as an energy vector is its distribution and storage, which requires infrastructures that still need to be developed and countries like Germany are already well ahead of us in, for example, hydrogen plant networks. There is no point in developing green H2 production plants without efficient infrastructures to make its final use a competitive market.
In what timeframe do you think green hydrogen production will reach a competitive price? What do we need to get to that point?
Developing green H2 as an energy vector is a key part of the strategy that the government approved in its Hydrogen Roadmap in 2020, because we need it to achieve the goal of having a 100% renewable electricity system by 2050. Among the objectives set out by the government is the reduction of CO2 emissions by 4.6 million equivalent tons by 2030, for which green H2 is fundamental. So all the necessary infrastructure and production and storage plants must continue to be developed to make the price sufficiently competitive for this objective to be achieved.
How do you think the hydrogen sector as an energy vector will evolve in 2022? What business prospects does your company foresee?
Because the long-term objectives are very ambitious, all green H2 infrastructures are being developed at a dizzying pace. Thanks to dedicated European funds, the development of H2 projects will grow exponentially by 2022. In CT we are already actively participating in some of these projects and we have even joined newly created associations such as the H2 Cluster of Castilla-La Mancha. In addition, we continue to develop our competencies within the team, with the aim of continuing to actively participate in this important roadmap for the country’s energy sector.
