A presentation of the SHYNE (Spanish Hydrogen Network) project, Spain’s largest renewable hydrogen consortium, was held at Campus Repsol.
As part of an effort to promote renewable hydrogen projects in all sectors of Spain’s economy and to stimulate rapid and effective decarbonization through this energy vector, it brings together 22 companies and 11 associations, technology centers, and universities led by Repsol.
Decarbonizing the economy is the ultimate goal of SHYNE’s value chain collaboration between businesses that share the same goal and are willing to put in the time and money to make it happen. In order to achieve this goal, the project has six promoting partners, including Repsol. Alsa, Bosch, Celsa, Enagas, Scania, and Talgo are all industry leaders.
A total of €3.23 billion will be invested in the SHYNE projects. This investment will allow for the implementation of various initiatives for the production, distribution, and use of renewable hydrogen in the industrial sector, transportation, and other applications, as well as the development of cutting-edge technologies and acceleration of the deployment plans for this gas. This investment will allow for. More than 13,000 jobs are expected to be created as a result of the project.
Eleven organizations, technology hubs, and universities are working together on the projects as partners. Some of these are AEH2, CNH2, the Spanish Ceramics and Glass Society (SGC), the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the Automotive Technology Center for the Region of Galicia in Spain (CTAG), and the Foundation for Development of New Hydrogen Technologies in the Regional Areas of Aragon and Catalonia (FHa) of Catalonia (IREC) of Catalonia (IREC) in the region of Catalonia (IREC).
As an example, the consortium includes Iberia and Balearia, two industry leaders in air and maritime transportation. Spain’s public company, Navantia, and PYMAR, a group of small and medium-sized private shipyards, have formed a partnership. Sidenor, AMES Group, and Tubacex are steel manufacturers. Calvera is a company that specializes in the design and development of gas storage and distribution infrastructure. BBE, for example, is a producer of electricity. EPowerlabs, for example, is an electric mobility engineering firm. In addition to Primafrio, the world’s leading refrigerated cargo shipper and engineering company, Wartsila. Technology companies Zigor and Magrana specialize in developing innovative solutions for the industrial sector. An additional company that works on developing and processing new materials is DYPAM, an offshoot of Castile-La Mancha University. Through the SHYNE consortium, the synergies between these entities will drive coordinated industrial developments throughout the hydrogen value chain.
A national initiative in keeping with the goals of the government
Due to the abundance of solar and wind resources and the industry’s own ability to adapt to a new economy centered on the hydrogen value chain, Spain enjoys an advantage over other countries when it comes to seizing the opportunities created by the new renewable hydrogen economy.
For example, the Basque Region Hydrogen Corridor (BH2C), Catalonia’s Hydrogen Valley and Murcia’s Hydrogen Valley are all connected by SHYNE, which aims to create an ecosystem that connects these regional hydrogen initiatives. Additional innovation hubs will be created in Castile-La Mancha and Madrid as part of SHYNE’s efforts. Competitive technologies, such as photoelectrocatalysis and solid oxide electrolysis, will be the focus of their research and development efforts (SOEC). As a result of the development of these tools, the United States will be able to maintain its technological lead in this emerging energy sector.
Additionally, a Madrid-based knowledge management center will be established to coordinate cross-cutting actions and position the participating technology centres and universities as centers of reference in Europe. An efficient network will be created that captures the synergies between production poles, industrial centers and other hydrogen consumers, ensuring that renewable gas remains cost-competitive and avoids additional costs being passed on to end consumers.
The EU and the Spanish governments’ goals are perfectly aligned with the SHYNE project. That group has set a capacity goal of 4 GW by 2030 in its Hydrogen Roadmap, which was released in October of that year. While the “Spain Can Plan” encourages the formation of such consortia, it is especially keen on multisectoral groups that work together to boost the hydrogen economy by collaborating across the entire value chain, including small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), research centers, and the public and private sectors.
It follows that the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PERTE ERHA) of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience (RTR) has been aligned with SHYNE.
Renewed hydrogen as part of a long-term strategy
Repsol’s plan to have net-zero emissions by 2050 relies on renewable hydrogen as one of its pillars. Earlier this year, the company unveiled its renewable hydrogen strategy, which aims to lead production in the Iberian Peninsula and play a major role in Europe. A proprietary technology called photoelectrocatalysis, developed in conjunction with Enagás, is currently being developed and will be used to produce hydrogen from water and sunlight.
One of the most important components of SHYNE will be the transformation of Repsol’s industrial facilities from single-use power plants into multi-energy hubs. Their goal is to combine both the production and use of this gas to create products with low or negative carbon footprints such as sustainable fuels and materials for construction or healthcare, among others.
Investing in the hydrogen value chain as a whole becomes easier thanks to the synergies between the companies involved in SHYNE’s development. To achieve decarbonization in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, this premise will be crucial. For example, Celsa’s steel sector or the aviation and maritime sectors, where Iberia, Balearia and Talgo are benchmarks, are examples of sectors where electrification currently does not exist, such as heavy long-distance transportation. In this new renewable hydrogen economy, the challenge of decarbonization becomes a great opportunity for Spain to generate wealth and technological and industrial development.
