The energy that adds up. It is the banner that permeated the Cepsa building this Monday morning on the occasion of the presentation of the First National Green Hydrogen Congress that will take place on February 7 and 8 in Huelva. Organized by the Huelva Federation of Entrepreneurs (FOE), the meeting seeks to “put the generation of this chemical compound in a renewable way at the center of the conversation,” said the president of the association, José Luis García Palacios.
Green hydrogen – produced through the electrolysis of water connected to renewable energies – has been in the focus of public opinion for some time as an option to carry out an energy transition that allows industrial decarbonization with an eye on the ambitious objectives they propose. in environmental matters the European Union and the Government of Spain. However, its role as a producer of raw materials such as ammonia or methanol also makes it an essential element towards a sustainable future.
The president of the Business Federation of Chemical Industries (FIOQUE), Teresa Rasero, listed some of the issues that will be analyzed next February in Huelva, such as the technological situation of electrolyzers and their advances in efficiency. Although, the representative of the technical committee also emphasized the sharing of knowledge as an enabler of the development of “regulations that allow hydrogen to be produced efficiently”, as well as the way to “make that ecosystem rich and broad.” “The opportunity exists, and we must take advantage of it,” said the chemist while insisting on the need to “establish conditions of competitiveness” with the coordinated work of the administrations as essential in this sense.
And the CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo, also spoke about coordination between entities, and during his speech he pointed out that in addition to public-private collaboration, it is “essential” to take into account alliances within the private sector for “this shared endeavor.” . The representative of the company – a platinum sponsor of the event and with large projects underway throughout the national territory – agreed with Rasero on the need for “infrastructures to connect production and consumption.” First in Spain, and later taken to Europe.
Carlos Barrasa, director of Cepsa’s commercial and clean energy department, explained that to achieve “an environment of trust and stability” “alliances and collaborations” in all areas are essential. The construction of this environment becomes even more important given the new developments that challenges bring with them. In this regard, the Secretary General of Industry, Francisco Antonio Blanco, pointed out that “the off takers who do not know when they will have the supply of hydrogen and under what conditions are uncertain. […] The producers who are also not clear are uncertain. who are going to be their off takers, nor at what price they are going to be able to produce.”
However, there was another protagonist during the launch of this first national congress. Your location. Huelva. In his speech Barrasa, agreeing with many of the attendees, assured that the location of the Congress is ideal since the Andalusian city is “a strategic enclave that meets the requirements to be the epicenter of the energy transition. It has sun, sea and a strong business”, to which he added that “it has the determined support of the institutions, its business fabric and citizens”.
Something confirmed by the mayor of the city, Pilar Miranda, who did not hesitate to highlight the great port infrastructure that, in turn, forms one of the claims to become “the green city of southern Europe”: “We play a fundamental role now and in the future,” said the popular councilor. She, too, did not hesitate to call for investments in the city and lay out “a red carpet for all entrepreneurs.”
While the presenter of the event, Roberto Brasero, made reference to the double ‘h’ that dominated the morning in the second tallest building in Spain -Huelva and hydrogen-, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines of the Junta de Andalucía, Jorge Paradela was not far behind: “Huelva is written with an ‘h’ for green hydrogen.”