Asturias, a northern Spanish region with ambitions to become a hub for green hydrogen production, has lost two critical projects totaling €100 million in investment and 200 potential jobs. The German wind energy giant Nordex and the HyDeal-Arcelor consortium recently opted to establish their electrolyzer gigafactories in Navarre and Guadalajara, respectively, despite Asturias’s offer of €11 million in subsidies for Nordex’s research initiatives. The setback underscores the fierce competition among European regions to secure a stake in the burgeoning green hydrogen supply chain.
Guadalajara, home to Europe’s largest operational electrolyzer plant, has already begun exporting components to Germany, signaling its early-mover advantage. This facility, visited by Spain’s Prime Minister earlier this year, highlights the strategic alignment of infrastructure and immediate demand. By contrast, Asturias’s pitch leaned heavily on its concentration of heavy industries—steel, cement, and glass—which collectively represent significant potential demand for green hydrogen. Regional Industry Minister Belarmina Díaz has emphasized this industrial base as a competitive edge, arguing that Asturias’s “large consumers” position it as a future hydrogen adopter. Yet critics question whether potential alone can offset the lack of localized electrolyzer production, a gap that may force the region to rely on imported equipment.
Nordex’s pivot to Navarre, a region with robust renewable energy infrastructure, and HyDeal’s shift to Guadalajara reflect a broader trend: investors prioritize regions with existing ecosystems over those banking on future demand. Analysts note that electrolyzer manufacturing requires proximity to both renewable energy sources (for cost-efficient hydrogen production) and transportation networks to serve pan-European markets. Guadalajara’s proximity to Madrid and its established logistics networks may have tipped the scales. Nordex, however, leaves a conditional door open for Asturias, suggesting it could reconsider manufacturing there “if local demand materializes.”
The HyDeal-Arcelor project’s collapse further exposes the challenges of aligning industrial timelines. While Asturias’s decarbonization roadmap targets a 40% reduction in industrial emissions by 2030, electrolyzer factories require immediate offtake agreements to justify capital expenditure. With ArcelorMittal’s Asturian steel plant—a prospective hydrogen consumer—still in the pilot phase of transitioning from coal, the region’s demand remains nascent. Meanwhile, Guadalajara’s factory is already fulfilling orders, illustrating the market’s preference for near-term viability over long-term promises.
Spain’s hydrogen strategy, backed by €1.5 billion in EU recovery funds, has catalyzed a regional arms race. Yet Asturias’s experience reveals fissures in this approach. Subsidies alone may not suffice without parallel investments in grid modernization, port infrastructure, or demand guarantees. The region’s reliance on hard-to-abate industries could still position it as a hydrogen leader, but only if it accelerates demand-side growth. For now, the loss of two flagship projects serves as a cautionary tale: in Europe’s green hydrogen race, existing infrastructure and speed to market often trump latent potential.
