Toledo, Spain : Spain is in the “best conditions” to become Europe’s green hydrogen hub, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Monday.
Sanchez spoke after US engine maker Cummins announced on Monday it would build a plant in Spain to make electrolyzer systems to produce green hydrogen, a zero-carbon fuel created using renewable energy rather than fossil fuels.
The project is partly funded by Cummins, which will invest an initial 50 million euros, and the Spanish electric utility company Iberdrola.
The plant will be built in Guadalajara, a city outside the capital Madrid, and is expected to start green fuel production in 2023. As well as producing 500 MW/per year of hydrogen, it will create 350 jobs in the area.
A “green and sustainable Spain, respectful of the environment and biodiversity, represents an enormous leap and opportunity” for the country’s development and employment rate, Sanchez said.
Over 1.5 billion euros from Spain’s 70-billion euro recovery plan will be invested in the green hydrogen sector over the next 3 years, Sanchez said. The technology will also encourage investors to invest up to 8.9 billion euros between now and 2030, the prime minister added.
By 2050, hydrogen will represent a third of the fuel used in land transport and 60% in maritime transport, according to estimates.
Each kilogram of green hydrogen that replaces a fossil fuel will eliminate the emission of 9 kilos of CO2 into the atmosphere, Sanchez said.
Spain aims to reach 74% of renewable electricity generation and 42% of renewable energy use by 2030, and full decarbonization by 2050, he added.
Source: laprensalatina
