Enagás’ CEO, Arturo Gonzalo, said that the results of the European Hydrogen Bank auction reinforce Spain’s position as a major continental hub for the production of renewable hydrogen. “Spain has the possibility of producing renewable hydrogen on a large scale and at half the price of the major European consumer, Germany,” he remarked in reference to the average cost of renewable hydrogen production projects per country that took part in the auction, during his speech "Infrastructures, security of supply and solidarity" at the 50th edition of the Sedigas Annual Meeting, held on 30 May in Madrid.
Arturo Gonzalo pointed out that Spain was the country that submitted the most projects and was awarded the most contracts in this first round of financing from the European Hydrogen Bank, with 46 projects out of 132 received and three of the seven that were finally awarded. “Hydrogen is becoming a reality and Spain has an unprecedented opportunity to be at the forefront of a major economic and industrial transformation in our continent,” he stressed.
“Europe is putting all the necessary pieces in place to create a strong, robust and efficient renewable hydrogen market for the future,” he asserted, highlighting the succession of milestones such as the approval of the Projects of European Interest (PCI) list, the Hydrogen and Decarbonised Gas Directive and the creation of the European Hydrogen Bank itself.
The CEO also underlined the leading role of Spain and the national gas sector in the European response to the war in Ukraine by contributing to the security of supply of the rest of the continent thanks to our country’s robust infrastructure. “Security of supply and decarbonisation are two sides of the same coin that have to translate into greater strategic autonomy for Europe,” he said.
Subsequently, Technical System General Manager, María Junco, also took part in the round table “Planning and operation: Natural gas, hydrogen and electricity” together with ENTSO-G’s General Director, Piotr Kus, and Red Eléctrica Española’s General Director of Operations, Concha Sánchez, in a round table moderated by KPMG Spain’s Senior Advisor, Carlos Solé. She argued that the energy transition has to meet the three principles of the energy trilemma: security of supply, sustainability and socio-economic affordability.
As Vice-President of Sedigas, Natalia Latorre, Enagás’ Energy Transition General Manager, took part in the round table “The national context: Natural gas, renewable gases and competitiveness", moderated by the Secretary General of Sedigas, Naiara Ortiz de Mendíbil, with the other two Vice-Presidents of Sedigas: the CEO of Nedgia, Raúl Suárez, and the Gas & Power Southern Europe Senior Manager at BP, María Fernández-Argüelles. Natalia Latorre highlighted the strength of the Spanish gas system and that in 2023 Spain was the country that re-exported the most LNG in the world.
