Rewritten for H2Heat | Original reporting by Euronews
Spain is positioning itself to become Europe’s green hydrogen leader, leveraging its abundant sun, wind and available land to build a new, export‑oriented energy industry.
Why Spain sees a strategic opportunity
For decades, Spain depended on imported oil and gas, a structural weakness that is now being reframed as an advantage. With some of Europe’s cheapest renewable electricity, strong wind resources and space for large solar and wind parks, the country is uniquely placed to produce green hydrogen at scale.
Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve (formerly Cepsa), puts it plainly: “Spain has always had the disadvantage of not having oil or gas… But now it is Spain’s moment because it has abundant solar power, very good wind resources and space to build large renewable parks.”
Moeve has just started construction on Onuba, the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva): a €1+ billion project beginning with 300 MW of electrolysis capacity and designed to expand further.
What is green hydrogen?
Hydrogen is not a primary energy source like sun or wind; it is an energy carrier that must be produced using other energy.
- Grey hydrogen is made mainly from natural gas and emits CO₂.
- Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis: using electricity to split water (H₂O) into hydrogen and oxygen.
- When that electricity comes from renewables (solar, wind), the result is renewable/green hydrogen.
Because electricity accounts for roughly 70% of green hydrogen’s cost, locations with the cheapest renewable power — like the Iberian Peninsula — gain a clear competitive edge.
If we have renewable electricity, why do we need hydrogen?
Direct use of renewable electricity is usually more efficient, so hydrogen is not meant to replace fossil fuels everywhere. Its strongest case is in hard‑to‑electrify sectors:
- Heavy industry processes
- Chemical production
- Parts of maritime and air transport where batteries are impractical
- Production of derivatives such as ammonia and synthetic fuels
At the Huelva launch, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez framed the push in both climate and economic terms: “This transformation is therefore not only about protecting ourselves better against crises… It is also about seizing a huge industrial opportunity.”
Huelva as the testing ground
Onuba’s initial 300 MW electrolyser can later be expanded by another 105 MW, with Moeve estimating annual output around 45,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen.
The site was chosen deliberately: Huelva combines strong renewable potential with existing industry, port infrastructure and nearby consumers. Moeve’s longer‑term ambition is to scale the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley to 2 GW across facilities in Huelva and Cádiz, connecting to other European industrial hubs via pipelines or maritime routes.
The price challenge: can green hydrogen compete?
Green hydrogen is still generally more expensive than grey hydrogen, though the gap narrows when gas prices are high and renewable power is cheap. Wetselaar argues that, in today’s energy context, green hydrogen is already competitive with grey in some conditions.
The bet is that scaling production will drive down electrolyser and system costs –following the learning curves seen in solar and wind. But this trajectory depends on building large projects and securing enough buyers to justify the investment.
Safety and leak prevention
Hydrogen is highly flammable and its small molecules demand exceptional tightness in equipment, pipes and connections; leaks in confined spaces can create explosive atmospheres at certain concentrations.
Moeve says its approach prioritises preventing leaks in the first place, designing leak‑tight facilities with multiple independent protection layers and drawing on decades of industrial experience at the La Rábida Energy Park. Automatic monitoring and anomaly‑detection systems act as additional barriers.
A “national project” backed by public funds
Spain is treating renewable hydrogen as a pillar of its energy and industrial strategy, raising its 2030 electrolysis target to 12 GW. Sánchez calls it “a true national project,” noting over €3 billion allocated to more than 120 renewable hydrogen projects, with Moeve’s Onuba alone receiving over €300 million in public support.
The strategy goes beyond producing the molecule: the government wants electrolysers, valves, compressors and related equipment to be manufactured in Spain, building a full domestic value chain from production to storage and transport.
From fuel importer to energy exporter
Geopolitical shocks have again exposed Europe’s vulnerability when dependent on imported oil and gas. For Spain, the ambition is to reverse the traditional flow: generate renewable power, convert it into hydrogen (and derivatives), and supply domestic industry and, eventually, other European markets.
A key enabler is H2Med, the planned corridor linking Portuguese and Spanish hydrogen networks to France and onward to Europe’s industrial centres. As Wetselaar notes: “If this country can become, for the first time in its history, an exporter of energy, its relationship with the rest of Europe changes for the better.”
Can Spain lead Europe’s green hydrogen?
Spain’s advantages are clear: top‑tier solar and wind resources, room to keep expanding renewables, industrial bases, ports and a strategic location — plus strong public and private commitment.
But leadership is not automatic. Green hydrogen still represents a tiny share of global output; costs remain high; new transport and storage networks must be built; and sufficient industrial demand must materialise to justify announced investments. Crucially, large volumes of new renewable electricity are needed so that green hydrogen genuinely contributes to decarbonisation.
With Onuba moving from announcement to construction, the next test is practical: producing at scale, finding buyers and doing so at a competitive price. If Spain solves that equation, its sun and wind could turn a historic weakness — energy import dependence — into a strategic advantage in Europe’s new energy landscape.
Source: Original reporting by Euronews – “A national project: What green hydrogen is and why Spain is backing it” (25 Sept 2026): https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/25/a-national-project-what-green-hydrogen-is-and-why-spain-is-backing-it[euronews]