Boosting Renewable Hydrogen in Spain: €1.214 Billion Allocated to Seven Future Hydrogen Clusters

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Last updated on 02 June, 2025

The provisional resolution proposal for the call for aid aimed at major renewable hydrogen valleys or clusters was published last month by the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), allocating €1.214 billion from the NextGenEU funds to seven projects located in Aragon, Andalusia, Castile and León, Catalonia, and Galicia.

This funding line, managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE)—a body attached to MITECO—aims to promote large-scale production and consumption of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives.

According to Sara Aagesen, Third Vice President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the call is expected to create “around 9,000 direct jobs and 11,000 indirect jobs during the construction and operational phases; moreover, 90% of the electrolyzers will be manufactured in Europe.”

What Are Hydrogen Valleys or Clusters?

Hydrogen valleys refer to geographic areas where the entire hydrogen value chain is concentrated: from production to end uses, including storage and distribution. The goal is to create an integrated ecosystem that enables the development and deployment of renewable hydrogen at scale.

  • Key objectives of hydrogen valleys include:
  • Decarbonisation through the substitution of fossil fuels in hard-to-electrify sectors.
  • Industrial development and job creation.
  • Enhanced competitiveness by lowering costs and increasing access to emerging technologies.

This model facilitates economies of scale, encourages a diverse mix of consumers within the same region, and generates a multiplier effect that drives regional development.

Scope and Impact of the Selected Projects

The seven selected projects under the H2 Valleys programme propose a total electrolyser capacity of 2,278 megawatts for the production of renewable hydrogen, distributed across 11 different facilities. According to the programme guidelines, a single cluster may include several sites, provided the distance between them does not exceed 100 kilometres. The total planned investment amounts to €4.907 billion. However, as the resolution is still under technical review, the final list of selected projects may be subject to modifications.

All seven projects exceed the minimum electrolyser capacity threshold of 100 megawatts required by the call. Furthermore, they include offtake commitments by industrial consumers covering at least 60% of the expected hydrogen production.

The promotion of renewable hydrogen clusters—part of Component 31 of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) and aligned with the European Commission’s RePowerEU mechanism—forms a central pillar of the PERTE EHRA (Strategic Project for Renewable Energies, Renewable Hydrogen, and Storage). It is considered essential for achieving the goals set out in Spain’s Renewable Hydrogen Roadmap, which targets 4 GW of capacity by 2030. It also contributes to the revised Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), which sets a more ambitious target of 12 GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030.