Asturias announces 26 green hydrogen projects worth €10.4B

In the sector of renewable hydrogen, Asturias is working on 26 projects that will attract more than 10,400 million in investments.

This information was made public at the conclusion of the Green and Sustainable Asturias conference, which was held by EDP in Oviedo. The minister of industry, employment, and economic promotion are Enrique Fernandez.

The energy transition process, which will aid in reindustrialization and the creation of new jobs, has created several prospects for the promotion of new economic activity in the neighborhood, as noted by Fernández.

He has specifically mentioned those pertaining to the creation of green hydrogen and its value chain, including initiatives like HyDeal Spain, a collaboration between ArcelorMittal, Enagás, and Fertiberia, and the ReCoDe project region, which stands for Reactivation, Competitiveness, and Decarbonization.

In the first instance, HyDeal Spain will raise more than 8,000 million for a project that combines the production, sale, consumption, and storage of renewable H2 and that will enable, among other industries, the steel industry, and the chemical industry, to deal with the decarbonization process.

ReCoDE, on the other hand, is a government of Asturias program that puts together 25 initiatives to mobilize 2,400 million to produce 170,000 tons of hydrogen by 2030.

Eight of these efforts are at a more advanced stage and are being directed by organizations like EDP or coalitions that also include Hunosa, Nortegás, Duro Felguera, Renfe, or Alsa. The installation of 180 MW of electrolyzers and the yearly generation of 20,000 tons of green hydrogen is anticipated to begin in 2024 with an investment of 512 million.

In particular, the counselor referred to the EDP project at the Aboo power plant, which, along with other advancements at the Soto de Ribera thermal power station and in other places, confirms it as “a key player in the Asturian energy system” and an excellent business in compliance with its commitments to Asturias within the framework of the energy transition process.

The projects for the Aboo and Soto de Ribera thermal plants, energy production using the so-called Arqumedes hydro crews in the Nalón river, or new storage technologies, according to Fernández, “close the virtuous circle of the just energy transition process because they give continuity to the company’s presence in Asturias, which has been there for 100 years, and to promote the industrial value chains linked to renewable energies.”