Spain’s Moeve sets sights on flagship hydrogen project

The Moeve project will target 2GW of green hydrogen production by 2030, alligning with Spanish government green hydrogen goals.

Spain’s second-largest oil company Moeve has gained “regulatory certainty” over the construction of its flagship green hydrogen project this year, its CEO Maarten Wetselaar told Reuters.

It comes after several decrees, including one to extend a 2022 windfall tax of 1.2% on energy firms with a turnover to “at least” €1bn (approximately £835m) were rejected by the country’s parliament last week.

The Andalucian Green Hydrogen Valley is anticipated to require €3bn (£2.5bn) of investment and its two facilities – based in Huelva and Campo de Gibraltar –  will have a combined electrolysis capacity of 2 GW and is forecast to produce up to 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year.

Moeve, formerly Cepsa, also recently announced its plans to invest €600 million to develop 30 biomethane plants in Spain by 2030.

As stated by Moeve, the plants will feature a complementary vector for green hydrogen production, resulting in the usuage of 10 million tons of waste per year.

Maintaining the company’s predominant focus on green hydrogen, thehe project will align with green hydrogen goals set by the Spanish government.

The country has set aims to replace 25% of the current 500,000 tonnes of fossil-based hydrogen consumed by the Spanish industry annually, with green hydrogen.

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez, who has described his country as a “global leader in hydrogen” said that it is planning to distribute €400 million among renewable projects that lost out in the Hydrogen Bank’s auction.

Last year Spain submitted 46 projects with a total of 2.9 GW of electrolysis capacity to the EU’s pilot Hydrogen Bank auction.