The first project in the international renewable hydrogen hub, HyDeal Ambition, will be located in Asturias. The platform is thereby starting to materialise four months after being set up as an industrial joint venture in November 2021, and after two years of research, analysis and modelling, feasibility studies and contract design.

This initiative was promoted by entrepreneurs and various CEOs of large companies, with the aim of producing and distributing green hydrogen in Europe at a competitive price, and thereby contributing to the decarbonisation of the production system. It aims to embrace a disruptive model to cover the entire value chain for this fuel, from production to transport, distribution and financing. It has the support of companies such as ArcelorMittal, Enagás, the Fertiberia Group and DH2 Energy.

Giga-scale global project
The Asturias project has been named HyDeal Spain, and will supply renewable hydrogen for the production of green steel, green ammonia, green fertilisers and other low-carbon industrial products. It will be the world's largest giga-scale renewable hydrogen project, as classified by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

This first industrial implementation of the platform comprises the development, financing and construction of a range of infrastructure for producing and transporting renewable hydrogen. Production will be by electrolysis, and will be achieved at a price that is competitive with other fossil fuels through the use of solar plants located in the north of Spain.

Dedicated pipelines
Production is scheduled to start in 2025, and is expected to have a total installed capacity of 9.5 gigawatts, supplying 7.4 gigawatts of power through electrolysis by 2030. In its first stage, it will supply a major industrial complex located in Asturias.

ArcelorMittal and the Fertiberia Group will be the main buyers. The 6.6 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen expected to be consumed over the next 20 years will enable Spain to reduce 4% of its  current CO₂ emissions. They do in addition expect other companies to participate, attracted by the cost of 1.5 euros per kilo. The sustainability of the project will also extend to distribution, with the deployment of dedicated pipelines for hydrogen transport and energy aggregation.

HyDeal's production will, according to its promoters, offset 5% of the country's natural gas imports, an argument for energy independence.

What the driving forces say
HyDeal Ambition's President and spokesperson Thierry Lepercq is delivering what he sees as a historic message to all energy users, "Green hydrogen is not just about small, local, high-cost projects. It is now a complete product, able to compete with coal, oil and natural gas in terms of both cost and volumes. It is the perfect large-scale weapon against the climate crisis and soaring energy prices".

ArcelorMittal’s President José Manuel Arias considers HyDeal Spain to be a strategic initiative in its roadmap towards decarbonisation in steel production, stating that, "Thanks to the integration of a whole group of companies and the effect of economies of scale, HyDeal Spain will be able to offer a competitive supply of hydrogen from renewable energy sources".

Enagás CEO Marcelino Oreja, for his part, pointed out, "With its extensive expertise in energy grid management and hydrogen technology, Enagás will play an important role in this project, together with its partners, in building the world's largest future integrated renewable hydrogen hub".

In terms of investment, the CEO of the Fertiberia Group, Javier Goñi, announced, "Building on HyDeal Spain's competitive green hydrogen, we will invest in a new state-of-the-art and highly flexible green ammonia plant to meet the needs of our fertiliser plant in Avilés. As part of HyDeal, the group's four large plants are already involved in projects to replace fossil ammonia with green ammonia in their production processes.”

Finally, DH2 Energy President Philippe Esposito added, "Green hydrogen will drive a disruptive paradigm shift to reduce global emissions and achieve climate neutrality and, at the same time, position Spain and its industry in the medium term as a major player among the world's leading energy producing nations. We are very proud to be part of this initiative that will contribute to position the Spanish industry in a very favourable competitive environment".

^{Photo: ArcelorMittal}