The Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, accompanied by the third vice president, Sara Aagesen, the president of the Junta of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla, and the main authorities of the area, accompanied this Thursday Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve, and the rest of the partner companies at the event presenting what can be considered the materialization of green hydrogen in Spain. An event in which the Vice President of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, also participated remotely.
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The project, called Onuba, debuts with a significant shareholder change, with the exit of one of the emblematic partners of the project, the renewable energy giant from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, Masdar, whose 29% of the capital has been equally acquired by Hy24, the largest global fund specialized in renewable hydrogen, and Cofides, the public-private financial institution. “The final investment decision caught this fund facing the complicated challenge of the geostrategic tensions of its country and it considered that it was not the right time to take the step. But thanks to the interest there was, replacing its participation was not a problem,” explain Moeve.
The company led by Wetselaar maintains its majority stake of 51%, while the remaining 20% corresponds to a joint stake of Enagás Renovable, one of the main European promoters of renewable gas projects, and Alter Enersun, a company dedicated to the development of renewable electricity generation facilities.
“It is very important to identify what we are inaugurating. This commitment goes beyond the fight against climate change. It is a matter of sovereignty to not leave our economy subject to influences of other interests foreign to the country. It is a project that changes our position in the world,” assured the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez.
During his speech before the Huelva audience, Sánchez pointed out that having native energy will protect Spain from the impact of energy wars. “We cannot leave our supply at the mercy of unjustified wars nor pay the broken plates of those who turn energy into another piece of their power games,” he assured.
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An investment of 1 billion euros
After two years of development, this is the real start of the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. The project, called Onuba, involves an investment of 1 billion euros and aims to produce between 300 and 400 MW at the plant located in the Moeve energy park in the industrial complex of La Rábida, in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva). The facility will be able to produce approximately 45,000 tons of renewable hydrogen per year, avoiding the emission of about 250,000 tons of CO₂ annually. In this first phase, all production will be destined to cover Moeve’s carbon needs in its refineries and chemical plants in the same complex.
“We are in the location where we are going to produce green hydrogen in industrial quantities, a process that opens a new era of clean energy in Europe. We celebrate the start of the construction of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, a critical project for European industrial policy and also for energy security, so relevant at this time.”
The facility constitutes the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley project, with which the company plans to develop a total electrolysis capacity of 2 gigawatts (GW) in Andalusia. The project includes 1 GW of capacity in the La Rábida Energy Park, in Huelva, and another 1 GW in the San Roque Energy Park, in Cádiz. Moeve’s forecast is to reach a production of up to 300,000 tons of green hydrogen annually. In total, an investment of 3 billion is planned. To supply energy to the electrolysis processes, Moeve plans the development of wind and photovoltaic projects with a total power of 7 GW, in addition to agreements with other renewable energy producers in Andalusia and the rest of Spain.
When fully developed, it will become the largest facility in Europe for the manufacture of hydrogen and derivatives (methanol and ammonia, among others).
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