Madrid, Europe Brief News – Spain is racing ahead in developing green hydrogen, helped by a growing wind and solar power sector as well as abundant space to house enormous plants needed to make green hydrogen.
Spain accounted for 20% of the world’s green hydrogen projects in the first quarter of 2022. It becomes th second only to the United States, according to Wood Mackenzie consulting firm.
The war in Ukraine has forced Europe to look for other sources of energy than Russian gas with the European Union doubling its production goal for 2030.
“Spain has become a very attractive country for green hydrogen. A shift is happening to mass-scale competitive hydrogen,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in May.
The sector is in its infancy. But experts believe it could help solve the world’s race to reach a net-zero future.
Green hydrogen is produced by passing an electric current through water to split it between hydrogen and oxygen. A process called electrolysis. It is considered green because the electricity comes from renewable sources of energy which do not create any harmful emissions.
“Spain has a series of advantages in comparison with other countries. It has a renewable energy structure. We have more sun and wind than other countries in northern Europe as well as more space [than other countries],” Rafael Cossent, professor of energy economics in Comillas Pontifical University in Madrid, told VOA in an interview.
In contrast, Germany is 1.4 times smaller than Spain. It has a higher population – at 84 million – than Spain whose population is 47m.
