Government released only a third of EU funds for green hydrogen and ‘batteries’

Hydrogen is a vector […] The key to achieving a clean, secure and affordable energy future, as it allows the decarbonisation of sectors where it is difficult to implement sustainable solutions, such as heavy transport, steel, cement, chemical industry…”, defended the Transitional Ministry of Ecology in December 2021. and the demographic challenge. It did so due to the approval in the Council of Ministers of the Strategic Project for Renewable Energies, Green Hydrogen and Storage (Erha) Recovery and Economic Transformation, which is linked to the European-funded recovery plan.

The energy crisis, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine since February this year and the threat of Russian gas cuts, underscores the importance of renewable energy. And green hydrogen and storage technologies are key in this transition away from fossil sources (primarily oil and of course gas). However, the government has so far only released a third of the European funds provided for in the recovery plan for renewable hydrogen projects and battery systems.

The Fedea analysis center made this calculation in a report published on Monday with data up to July of this year. And although barely 987 million euros of the 2,920 million euros planned for these renewable technologies have been mobilized, the total (almost 70,000 million) The Next Generation Recovery Plan Europe Almost 50% are running (see graph).

Ecological transition sources explain to elDiario.es that the new market must be created “from scratch” and it is being done “progressively”. “We must encourage both production and demand,” they continue from the ministry of Third Vice President Teresa Ribera. And we need to keep in mind that “both storage and hydrogen are immature technologies,” they emphasize.

Angel de la Fuente, director of Fedea and author of the report, notes that since the recovery plan did not start until the second half of 2021, the “start rate” has so far been around 23% due to the semester. which in principle corresponded to the conditions established for the allocation of funds.

Of course, he notes, there are “significant differences” between the different items, as with renewable hydrogen. [se pusieron en marcha 400 millones en 2021 y van 150 en 2022] and storage [387 el año pasado, y solo 50 millones en lo que va de este ejercicio]. “And the most delayed”, it is “transport infrastructure and environmental measures, with less than 30%”.

Limited information on final performance

“If we follow the official data of execution [general] For the General State Administration, the situation is good: within the framework of the recovery plan, a large part (85%) of the budgeted expenses in 2021 have been fulfilled during the year, which is expected to be repeated in 2022. In many cases, however. It only means that these resources have started their journey to their final destination, which may involve several transfers between administrations or public institutions until they reach the one that will ultimately be responsible for managing the respective calls or tenders,” explains Angel. source.

“Therefore, it is convenient to distinguish between temporary performance and final performance or final expenditure of funds. [europeos]Concession of the latter term to the final recipients of the aid or to the companies making investments participating in the tender, while the former corresponds to the transfer of funds between administrations or public sector entities to the final destination. “We have very limited information on the final performance of European funds, because the bodies and administrations responsible for it do not publish budget performance reports as quickly and in detail as the General State Administration,” the economist emphasizes.

With this “limited” information, the conclusion of the Fedea report is that the final performance barely reached 27.2% in 2021 and that it only reaches 5.18% in 2022 (until July).

There is a road map, but the money is not moving

“Spain already has a renewable hydrogen roadmap, which, among other things, sets the goal of reaching 4 GW of production capacity in 2030, 10% of the total capacity of the European Union,” they emphasize in Ecological Transition.

and reveal more data. For example, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) calculates that renewable hydrogen in Spain will be cheaper than fossil hydrogen in 2026, behind only China, Brazil and India. “And that we have already installed the largest electrolyser in Europe, in Puertollano,” they add.

According to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, 20% of all hydrogen projects in the world are located in Spain. Finally, our country has demanded that the new gas pipelines that will be built, such as the Midcat or the submarine that could connect us to Italy, be prepared to transport green hydrogen.

Hydrogen targets for 2030

The Government’s Hydrogen Roadmap outlines the following specific targets for 2030, with associated investment [pública y privada] 8,900 million euros: 4,000 MW of electrolyser capacity, 25% of industry consumption, 5,000 to 7,000 hydrogen-powered light and heavy vehicles, 150 to 200 hydrogen stations for public use, and two commercial train lines.

“To achieve these goals, the government has launched the Perte of Renewable Energy, Hydrogen and Storage (Erha),” emphasized the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

On the same Monday, from the Secretariat of the Economy, Energy and Productive Model of Podemos, they said that “we must not forget that it is necessary to increase public investments in renewable energies, thus ensuring a strategic supply of green and cheap energy in the medium term. “.

“This is not exactly the time to cut back on an investment that is crucial and that will allow us to reduce our country’s fossil fuel imports over the next few years, and thus our external dependence on these energies. On the contrary, now is the time to commit to further promoting the energy transition,” they conclude.

Source: El Diario

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