Madrid, 8 October 2026 — EBM Newsdesk Analysis — By Anthony Gill
Pedro Sánchez calls green hydrogen “a true national project”. In Huelva, on Spain’s south-west coast, the first large plant to back that claim is going up. Moeve, the energy company formerly known as Cepsa, is investing more than €1bn in the first phase of its Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, Euronews reports. The plant will have 300 megawatts of electrolysers, produce about 45,000 tonnes of hydrogen a year, and has received €304m of public money. It is the biggest commitment to green hydrogen in southern Europe. It also covers just 2.5% of the 12 gigawatts Spain has promised by 2030.
That gap sums up Spain’s position. It has some of the best conditions in Europe for making green hydrogen. What it doesn’t yet have is enough customers or the pipelines to reach them.
What Green Hydrogen Actually Is
Hydrogen is a way of storing and carrying energy, not a source of energy in its own right. Most hydrogen today is “grey”. It is made from natural gas, and the process releases carbon dioxide. Green hydrogen is made a different way: renewable electricity splits water into hydrogen and oxygen in a machine called an electrolyser, so no carbon is emitted.
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SubscribeElectricity makes up roughly 70% of the cost, according to Moeve chief executive Maarten Wetselaar. That’s where Spain has its advantage. It has plenty of sun, wind and empty land, and some of the cheapest solar power in Europe. A country that has always imported its oil and gas could become an energy exporter. “It is Spain’s moment,” Wetselaar says.
What It Is For
Green hydrogen isn’t a good fit for everything. Wherever electricity can be used directly, as in cars or home heating, that is cheaper and more efficient. Hydrogen makes sense for industries that can’t easily run on electricity: refineries, fertiliser plants, chemicals, steel, and fuels for ships and planes.
Huelva is a good example. Its output will go into fertiliser, chemicals and low-carbon transport fuels, replacing grey hydrogen that Spanish industry already uses. That is the realistic first market. Selling to factories that already buy hydrogen is far easier than persuading new industries to start.
Why the Timing Suits Spain
The energy shock has helped Spain’s case. Grey hydrogen is made from gas, so when gas prices rise, so does its cost. With Brent above $100 and Europe facing high energy prices again, the price gap between green and grey hydrogen has narrowed. The war with Iran has done more to make clean energy cost-competitive than years of subsidy did.
Big investors have noticed. Moeve’s partner in Huelva is Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s clean energy company, another example of Gulf money buying into European infrastructure. Spain’s hydrogen association counts about 400 projects with combined budgets of more than €33bn. The government has put over €3bn into more than 120 of them.
The Hurdles
There are four, and each one is serious.
Demand. Investors won’t build electrolysers until customers commit to long-term contracts. Most of those 400 projects are still plans. Of 145 commercial schemes, only a few have reached a final investment decision.
Pipes. Spain can’t export hydrogen to Germany without a way to move it there. The H2Med corridor, including the BarMar subsea pipeline from Barcelona to Marseille, has only just entered detailed engineering and isn’t due to operate until 2032. Until then, Spanish hydrogen has to be used in Spain.
Power. Green hydrogen only cuts emissions if new renewable capacity is built to make it. Spain will need large amounts of additional solar and wind, plus grid connections that are already in short supply.
Politics. Spain is heading to a snap election on 29 November. A national project associated closely with Sánchez could lose momentum if he loses power.
The Bottom Line
Spain’s advantage in hydrogen is real. Cheap sun and wind can’t easily be copied, and Huelva shows that serious money will follow. But 12 gigawatts by 2030 is a political target, not a forecast. The better plan is to use green hydrogen at home first: replace the grey hydrogen in Spain’s own refineries and fertiliser plants, cut gas imports, and build a buyer base before worrying about exports. If Spain does that, it will have a hydrogen industry when the pipelines arrive in the 2030s. If it chases headline gigawatts without customers, it risks being left with idle plants paid for by subsidy.
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