In 2020, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) approved the “Hydrogen Roadmap” and promoted various subsidies with the aim of promoting these projects.
Currently, administrative complexities and the lack of a comprehensive approach to government incentives are putting companies in the sector in the national territory at risk.
“There are companies that are considering giving up the possible aid they have received, both national and regional,” says Emilio Nieto, director of the National Center for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells.
One of the main problems pointed out to Mobility Portal España is the structure of the available support, which is mainly focused on CAPEX, that is, on the acquisition of equipment and infrastructure.
“This is fine, but when it comes to implementing the initiatives, it would also be wise to plan incentives to cover OPEX, the costs related to start-up, maintenance and other operations,” he explains.
The absence of subsidies for operational costs creates a bottleneck that prevents initiatives from moving from the planning phase to implementation.
Not only that.
Although project costs were expected to decrease due to economies of scale and the implementation of large-scale initiatives, in many cases these costs have not only remained the same, but have even increased.
“This creates a tense atmosphere, as it is not clear whether the government is really supporting or not,” says Nieto.
He adds: “What this achieves is a certain delay in those projects that are announced and that take longer to reach the famous financial closing phase.”
In this context, the expert hopes that this is merely a delay and not a renunciation of aid.
In this context, companies that have received subsidies are not seeing a rapid return in terms of implementation, which generates a climate of uncertainty and mistrust.
While there are other initiatives that have made progress.
The situation becomes even more complicated when international competition is considered.
China focuses on the Spanish hydrogen market
Nieto reveals that two Chinese companies have contacted the National Hydrogen Center with the aim of entering the national market and becoming competitive.
These include the production of electrolysers with components manufactured in Europe.
“Chinese investors are making significant bets on Europe, which is causing some concern,” he said.
In this context, measures are being taken at European level to restrict their entry, which, according to Nieto, constitutes a “mistake”.
“What we should do is get our act together at a European level and try to cover the areas that the Chinese are taking advantage of to enter the market and be competitive,” he emphasizes.
The objective is to generate added value internally and subsequently compete in a free market.
In this way, Europe will be able to compete with foreign firms on a level playing field.
The key, according to Nieto, is to generate added value in Spain, not only in terms of H2O production, but also in the development and export of technology.
This is essential to comply with the Hydrogen Roadmap, which establishes the installation of between 100 and 150 hydrogen stations by 2030.
“We currently have around 15, we are not going to reach the goal,” he says, although he stresses that there is still time to reach the necessary installed capacity of electrolysers.
What is the challenge?
That even if production capacity is reached, there may not be sufficient domestic demand if consumer markets are not adequately fostered.
In this context, Emilio Nieto underlines the importance of Spain positioning itself not only as a producer of hydrogen for export, but also as an attractive hub for the installation of companies thanks to its low production costs.
“This would make us competitive in the market,” he says, stressing that in order to achieve this, it is essential to establish clear regulations and overcome the bureaucratic obstacles that are currently hindering the sector’s progress.
MITECO launches new aid for the sector
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced four aid programmes worth 2.3 billion euros to “accelerate the energy transition in areas such as green hydrogen”, among others.
The lines, which will be financed with funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan launched by the EU to accelerate the exit from the pandemic, will be managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings (IDAE).
A little more than half of the budget, i.e. 1.2 billion euros, will be allocated to projects related to the production and consumption of green H2O in renewable H2O clusters or valleys.
This disbursement represents a step forward in support for this technology, which had previously received 300 million for 30 pioneering initiatives, 230 million for another 40 in the value chain.
As well as 794 million for seven IPCEI strategic plans (important projects of common European interest).
“We are using the funds to modernise our traditional industries, to attract a new generation of green and digital factories and services,” said Sánchez.
