The CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo, argued for the development of green hydrogen in order for Europe to become a carbon neutral continent by 2050 in the face of the growing impact of global warming. “Hydrogen is now, the energy transition is now, there is not a minute to lose”, he stressed during his speech at the 5th International Expansion Forum held on 8 and 9 May at the Parador de Alcalá de Henares. The event was attended by His Majesty the King Felipe VI, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, and the Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera.
As the CEO emphasised, the last eleven months have been some of the warmest recorded in history, according to the European Climate Change Service, Copernicus, with temperatures averaging 1.5ºC higher than usual. This figure is the maximum limit set by the Paris Agreements for 2050. In view of these data, he stressed that decarbonisation “is more urgent than ever”.
Arturo Gonzalo reiterated that the energy transition must be “based on renewable electrons and renewable molecules” during his participation in an energy roundtable with Mario Ruiz-Tagle, CEO of Iberdrola Spain; Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Cepsa; and Amparo Moraleda, Independent Director of Airbus, Maersk, CaixaBank and Vodafone. The roundtable was moderated by the editor-in-chief of Expansión, Miguel Ángel Patiño.
“Europe must take a big step to strengthen its networks, its infrastructures”, he insisted, recalling that these are two of the main recommendations of the Letta report - drawn up by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta at the request of the European Council - and adding that, in order to boost its strategic autonomy, Europe must prioritise security of supply, with local and renewable resources, such as green hydrogen.
“We need a large European green hydrogen infrastructure”, said the CEO, pointing out that the demand for this vector already exists and, for it to flourish, it is a priority to connect the points of supply with those of demand.
Arturo Gonzalo also highlighted Spain’s capacity to become the leading energy hub in Europe, also in green hydrogen: “Spain must set itself the ambition of becoming the great European leader in renewable energy”, he stated.
“Our country has the land, the wind, the sun, the industrial capacity and the institutional framework to really take advantage of this historic opportunity”, he pointed out, recalling the results of the first auction of the European Hydrogen Bank, in which Spain was leader in the number of projects awarded and presented.
