Spain is drafting a new law to support the development of renewable hydrogen, provide investors clearer rules and adjust energy markets to include green gases, according to Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen.
Addressing the fourth Hydrogen Day event organised by gas network operator Enagas, Aagesen said the proposed law would bring European hydrogen rules into Spanish legislation, set up a national hydrogen system and create a regulated market aimed at increasing demand for renewable hydrogen and other green gases, reports Renewables Now.
She said the legislation is intended to give investors clearer guidance over the medium and long term and support the expansion of hydrogen infrastructure. Aagesen noted that Spain has already directed more than 3 billion euros towards programmes supporting renewable hydrogen.
Alongside the planned law, the ministry has launched a public consultation on two draft royal decrees that together would provide 465 million euros in financial support for renewable hydrogen production and efforts to cut industrial emissions. The funding will come from Spain’s post-pandemic recovery plan.
One of the decrees outlines plans to offer at least 415 million euros in direct grants for Spanish projects taking part in the next European Hydrogen Bank auction under the European Union’s support model. Around one-third of this funding would be reserved for projects supplying the shipping and aviation sectors.
The second decree opens consultation on an additional 50 million euros in support for projects that switch industrial heat processes to electricity or directly use renewable fuels. These projects are linked to a planned European industrial emissions reduction auction.
Spain’s first round under the European auction support model last year awarded 126.4 million euros to two green hydrogen projects that narrowly missed receiving funding at the European level because of budget limits.
Aagesen also invited industry participants to contribute to an early public consultation on a national system to verify sustainability and emissions reductions for biofuels, biogas, hydrogen and other renewable gases. The proposed system aims to create a single certification and tracking framework, cut verification costs and allow Spain’s gas network to be assessed as a whole rather than in separate parts.
In addition, the ministry has circulated a proposed decision on Spain’s first electricity grid capacity tenders for demand, launched in July. These tenders are expected to allow several large industrial projects, including renewable hydrogen developments, to connect to the power grid, Aagesen said.
