The Basque Hydrogen Corridor Association (BH2C), a public-private partnership aimed at promoting hydrogen as an energy source, cautioned Wednesday that “now more than ever,” we must encourage decarbonization and energy reliance reduction “for the sake of supply security.”
Green hydrogen is “a relevant actor for two strategic reasons,” according to this association: first, it “provides a solution for the massive incorporation of renewable energies (fundamentally solar and wind) into the electrical system that, by their nature, are not manageable and require the support of storage to match supply and demand.”
The second is that it provides a solution to the problem of decarbonizing sectors that have a hard time removing CO2 emissions from the environment “and that have a big weight in our business, such as the steel industry.”
Following a meeting in Gasteiz with the Lehendakari Iigo Urkullu and the Minister of Economic Development, Arantxa Tapia, the Basque Hydrogen Corridor Association made these observations. “Its contribution to reducing dependency on nations that generate fossil fuels, like as oil and gas,” the group stated as the third justification in favor of boosting this form of energy in the Basque Country.
78 entities — eight institutions, twelve knowledge centers, business groups, and 58 corporations – are involved in the Basque Hydrogen Corridor. This initiative is based on a comprehensive strategy that encompasses 34 projects from throughout the value chain and aims to alter the production fabric while managing to keep the industry’s weight in the economy.
According to a statement issued yesterday, the corridor’s initiatives would require an investment of more than 1,500 million euros through 2026, resulting in the creation of more than 2,000 direct employment and 6,700 indirect ones. Green hydrogen production, with a capacity of 112 MW installed; technological and industrial growth throughout the value chain and digitalization; and research into hydrogen applications in transportation, the residential sector, and industry will be the focus of the expenditures.
