Hydrogen infrastructure in Spain

The new European energy paradigm is primarily built upon two key pillars: ensuring security of supply and achieving decarbonisation. These pillars strengthen Europe's objectives in renewable energy and energy efficiency, while also facilitating the advancement of new infrastructure projects aimed at integrating EU markets.

Spain is in a favourable position due to its geographical location, industrial and technological capabilities and well-established natural gas infrastructure network. This advantageous position will serve as a basis for the establishment of future green hydrogen infrastructures. Thanks to its potential for renewable energy production, Spain also has the opportunity to become a leading player in the production and export of renewable energies, such as green hydrogen. This is a key factor in increasing European competitiveness and ensuring security of supply.

In order to assess the potential of the national green hydrogen market, Enagás launched a non-binding Call For Interest process in the last quarter of 2023, the results of which - presented at its 2nd Hydrogen Day - ratified the proposed hydrogen backbone infrastructure by 2030 for Spain.

To update the information gathered during the Call for Interest process conducted in 2023; identify new projects, needs, and interested stakeholders; and further refine the sizing of the required infrastructure, Enagás launched a new non-binding Call for Interest process. The process is now closed, and the information received will be key to the next steps.

Enagás is driving five renewable hydrogen transmission backbones in Spain, covering approximately 2,875 km: the Cantabrian Coast Axis, the Ebro Valley Axis, the Levante Axis, the Vía de la Plata Axis, and the CLM Transversal Axis. In addition, the company plans to develop two underground hydrogen storage facilities to be located in new salt caverns in Cantabria and the Basque Country. 

These storage facilities and the first 2,600 km of the pipelines associated with the Spanish hydrogen hubs, as well as H2med with its Celorico da Beira-Zamora and Barcelona-Marseille sections, were included in the final European list of PCIs in April 2024. In January 2025, the European Commission granted Enagás 100% of the financing requested, from the CEF funds, for the study phase of these first axes of the Spanish Hydrogen Backbone Network and one of the associated storage facilities. Likewise, in April 2026, the Alcázar de San Juan–Montesa section was included in the second PCI/PMI list under PCI 9.1.3, the Spanish Hydrogen Backbone, extending its scope to 2,875 km.

In addition, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has approved the Public Participation Plan for hydrogen infrastructures prepared by Enagás, which will begin to be deployed between March and April 2025. 

In this context, Enagás has implemented a Conceptual Public Participation Plan (PCPP) for green hydrogen infrastructures in Spain, approved by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in January 2025. The process, launched on April 25th 2025, started in Castilla-La Mancha and is covering, over a period of 18 months, the 13 Autonomous Communities involved in the layout of the future hydrogen network.

In addition, four new sections of the Spanish hydrogen network are included in the future expansion plan: Guitiriz–Zamora, Huelva–Algeciras, the Northern Meseta Transversal (Zamora–Navarra), and the Southern Meseta Transversal (Puertollano–Alcázar de San Juan–Madrid).

Their development, which envisages approximately 1,200 additional kilometres of infrastructure and is planned from 2030 onwards, will ensure that all mainland autonomous communities in Spain are connected to the hydrogen network.

All these projects are of great importance to position Spain as the leading green hydrogen hub in Europe and to link the supply of countries with production potential, such as Spain, with the demand of central European countries.

As one of the leading transmission system operators in Europe, Enagás could be a key player in the decarbonisation process, bringing its experience and knowledge to the adaptation of existing infrastructures and the development of new ones, accelerating the creation of a competitive hydrogen market in Spain and Europe.

The company has been appointed, in accordance with Royal Decree-Law 8/2023 of 27 December, provisional manager of the hydrogen network in Spain and has developed a proposal of hydrogen backbone infrastructure with a 10-year horizon, which it presented to the Directorate General for Energy Transition Policy and Mines of the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge in April 2024.

 In September 2024, Enagás Infraestructuras de Hidrógeno was authorised by the Council of Ministers Agreement to develop European Projects of Common Interest (PCI) for hydrogen networks. This subsidiary Enagás Infraestructuras de Hidrógeno, which serves the purpose of separating the company’s role as a natural gas infrastructure operator (TSO) from the potential future management of hydrogen infrastructures, was established in 2022.