Moeve has begun construction in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) on the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, Europe’s largest project involving this fuel. This pioneering and strategic initiative, which aims to drive the creation of the renewable hydrogen market, and with Spain taking a leading role, has been recognised by the EU as a Project of Common Interest.

This first phase, named Onuba, will deliver 300 megawatts of electrolysis capacity at Moeve’s Energy Park in the town, in Huelva province, with the scope for an additional 105 megawatts. The planned investment will exceed 1 billion euros, including the energy generation infrastructure and a solar photovoltaic self-consumption plant.

Majority investors
The project is led by Moeve, owned by the UAE’s Mubadala Investment Company, which holds a 51% stake. The French fund Hy24, which specialises in renewable hydrogen, brings its industrial expertise to this energy carrier and, together with Cofides, holds a further 29% stake. The Government has for its part awarded it 304 million euros in funding under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed by the European Union through NextGenerationEU.

During its development, construction and commissioning phases, Onuba will create more than 8,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the entire value chain. At the same time, it will help boost the economic activity of more than 400 local SMEs and self-employed professionals.

More sustainable fuels
The new facility has been designed to produce around 45,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year, which can be used for more sustainable production of fuels for road transport, aviation and the maritime sector, while also helping to decarbonise other industries.

Onuba will also be the company’s first digitally native plant, featuring a digital twin integrated from the design stage and a unified data and Internet of Things platform aimed at delivering, safer, more efficient and more predictive operations.

Europe’s largest green hydrogen project
The Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley project as a whole envisages 2 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity distributed across Moeve’s energy parks in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque (Cádiz). It is Europe’s largest project involving this energy carrier and positions Andalusia as a key region thanks to its available land, world-class port infrastructure and climate conditions that enable renewable electricity to be generated at a significantly lower cost than in northern Europe.

According to the company, Huelva’s industrial energy transition projects - Onuba and a biofuels plant that will begin producing sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel in 2027 - are two of the four largest industrial projects currently under construction in Spain, representing a combined investment of 2.4 billion euros.

Genuine national project
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez boasts of having turned renewable hydrogen “into a true national project”, achieving this through his government “with measures aimed at creating a market and stimulating demand”. The aim, he explains, is “to provide certainty for investment, expand supply and facilitate the implementation of industrial projects in the country”.

Moeve CEO Maarten Wetselaar said, “Today, we are moving beyond the era of green hydrogen pilot projects as we move towards building large-scale projects. The Onuba project cements Spain’s position among Europe’s leaders in the production of new forms of sustainable energy and represents a decisive step towards achieving a more competitive, energy-independent Europe.”

^{Photo: Moeve}