• The agreement is to create the first major hydrogen alliance for mobility corridors.
• The project comprises the construction of a network of 50 hydrogen refuelling stations in an initial phase that will cover the whole of mainland Spain.
Enagás -through its subsidiary Scale Gas-, Naturgy and Exolum have signed an agreement to jointly study and develop infrastructures for the production, distribution and supply of green hydrogen in the mobility sector throughout Spain. This is the first major hydrogen alliance for mobility corridors. The project will be called “Win4H2”.
This agreement comprises the development of a network of 50 hydrogen refuelling stations that offer homogeneous penetration of this energy vector in Spain, so that any user can opt for the green hydrogen solution with guaranteed supply in 100% of mainland Spain.
From left to right: Fernando Impuesto, Managing Director of Enagás Emprende; Rafael Benjumeda, Director of New Business Exploitation at Naturgy; and Andrés Suarez, Global Strategy & Innovation Lead at Exolum, at the signing of the agreement.
Among the possible beneficiaries in the use of green hydrogen for mobility are sectors such as the Administration, passenger transport, logistics, taxis, private vehicles, port and airport luggage logistics, as well as other potential large consumers in the so-called hydrogen valleys.
The aim of these corridors is to establish a network of renewable hydrogen supply points that are about 300 km apart and cover the entire country, allowing the establishment of national logistics routes with guaranteed supply and their connection with international routes.
This configuration will make it possible to supply a 150 km radius area of influence or service around each facility. To this end, a green hydrogen production capacity of approximately 4,000 to 7,000 tonnes per year is expected to be available in the first stage, through a scalable design depending on market evolution.
Network deployment will be carried out gradually and seeking the necessary public-private collaboration through public aid that will allow compliance with the Hydrogen Roadmap published by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, to facilitate the development of the hydrogen industry in Spain, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in mobility.
The three companies are already designing the first route that will supply green H2 to Madrid, Valencia and Murcia/Cartagena, as well as interconnecting them through a hydrogen corridor, thus facilitating the movement between these areas by vehicles powered by this sustainable fuel. The choice of this first route has been carried out taking into account the high volume of heavy transport, both goods and passengers.
At each of the selected locations, the infrastructures required to supply the hydrogen demand initially identified will be designed, constructed and operated, enabling scaling to meet increases in demand as and when they occur.
The CEO of Enagás Emprende, Fernando Impuesto, pointed out that “this agreement with Naturgy and Exolum, through Scale Gas, a subsidiary arising from our entrepreneurship and innovation programme that develops small-scale infrastructures for sustainable mobility, is in line with Enagás’ commitment to energy transition and decarbonisation. An example of this strategy is the first 700 bar hydrogen refuelling station in Spain, put into operation by Scale Gas at the beginning of this year.”
On the other hand, Naturgy's Director of New Business Operations, Rafael Benjumeda, took advantage of the signing of the agreement to confirm the Naturgy group’s commitment to renewable gases such as green hydrogen and the development of the infrastructures necessary to achieve the European commitments to reduce emissions as part of its decarbonisation plan. This alliance is a response to Spain’s challenge represented by the energy transition that will be developed thanks to the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, in which green hydrogen plays a leading role within the European Union.
The Global Strategy & Innovation Lead of Exolum, Andrés Suarez, has highlighted that “Exolum wants to be a relevant player in the development of the hydrogen sector and its commitment is to integrate solutions along the entire value chain, taking advantage of all its experience in the management and optimisation of energy networks, and relying on existing infrastructure which is an opportunity in terms of efficiency and economic viability fully aligned with our objectives of decarbonization and circular economy.”
Initiative open to collaboration with other agents in the sector
Enagás, Naturgy and Exolum have decades of experience as designers, builders and managers of infrastructure for the production, distribution and supply of energy products and in the development of sustainable business models in the energy sector.
The agreement, which was signed to coincide with European Mobility Week, also includes the establishment of relations and partnerships with different companies interested in hydrogen consumption or in participating in some link of the hydrogen value chain with the aim of developing technologies that, associated with the development of competencies and skills in the Spanish business network, will allow this market to develop in competitive fairness with other energy vectors and turn the country into one of the international benchmarks in the renewable hydrogen sector.
Moreover, the three companies have presented their portfolio of renewable hydrogen projects in the expressions of interest published by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and by the Ministry of Industry, which include different projects to be developed on the Mainland as well as in the Balearic and Canary Islands, and some of them with participation also in consortiums for the development of projects in other European countries.
