Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley

Framed by Positive Motion, we continue to develop ‘Andalusia Green Hydrogen Valley‘, Spain’s most ambitious renewable hydrogen project and one of the largest in all of Europe. The Valley will accelerate the energy transition and endow the continent with greater energy autonomy.

The project, which entails over €3 billion of investment, will see the construction of two green hydrogen production facilities at our Energy Parks in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque (Campo de Gibraltar, Cadiz). The facilities will have combined electrolysis capacity of 2 GW and produce up to 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. Their construction will also allow us to boost the production of 2G biofuels and derivative products such as green ammonium and methanol, helping our customers in the manufacturing and heavy road transportation sectors with their decarbonisation efforts.

In 2023 we announced the development of an hydrogen ring in Huelva (Spain). The pioneering engineering feat implied by the construction of this piece of infrastructure lies with connecting up hydrogen producers with consumers, ensuring more sustainable, efficient, secure and competitive supplies and tapping synergies across all neighbouring industries.

Green hydrogen as a new energy vector

Green hydrogen is a key tool for our own decarbonization and that of our customers, especially in sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as industry, heavy road transportation, and air and sea transportation.

Starting up these hydrogen plants, linked to biofuel production, will prevent 6 million tons of CO₂ emissions per year, as well as emissions from other gases and particles, thus improving air quality and contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Agenda 2030 goals.

Generating the renewable energy needed for these plants will be possible thanks to the development of wind and solar projects. In addition, we will work alongside other renewable energy producers in Andalusia and the rest of Spain to promote integrating our plants into the electrical system.

An opportunity for Andalusia

The Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley will turn Andalusia and Spain into a European energy power with export capacity, contributing to Europe's security of supply and energy independence, thus supporting the REPowerEU strategy and helping to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda to combat climate change.

Furthermore, the development of this valley will position Andalusian ports as world leaders in international green hydrogen corridors and in supplying new green fuels for maritime transportation. Proof of this is the agreement signed with the Port of Rotterdam to create the first green hydrogen corridor linking southern and northern Europe, also linking with other ports such as Singapore.

Boosting industrial activity and employment in the region

Developing the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley will generate 10,000 jobs, 1,000 of them directly, and it will boost the economic activity of more than 400 SMEs in the area. It will also boost industrial activity in the region by facilitating access to affordable, accessible, secure, and sustainable energy that is close to production centers. Andalusia already consumes 40% of the hydrogen used in Spain today.

The region already has important industrial clusters, which is why our objective is to promote partnerships and collaborations to make the region more competitive. In this sense, the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley will be a center of attraction for other links in the hydrogen value chain, such as electrolyzer factories, green fertilizer plants, or hydrogen transport technology.

In addition, this project will generate new opportunities for local talent. At Cepsa we will invest in training new job profiles through the training centers at our Energy Parks, as well as through other partnerships with universities in the region.

Why Andalusia?

Andalusia has the best conditions to be one of the most competitive and efficient regions in the world in the production of green hydrogen. It is one of the places in Europe with the most competitive wind and solar photovoltaic generation capacity: more than 80% of the cost of green hydrogen production is derived from the cost of renewable electricity.

Andalusia consumes 40% of the hydrogen currently used in Spain, so Palos de la Frontera and San Roque, where there is already a significant industrial fabric, are prime sites to implement large-scale projects. Only projects like these, with access to a broad mix of renewable sources and high end-user demand, can be competitive.

The location of the plants will contribute to the increased integration of renewable projects in the autonomous community and will improve their utilization by taking advantage of surplus renewable energy generation during off-peak hours, accelerating compliance with the region's and Spain's decarbonization objectives.