Government of Spain allocates €794 million to renewable hydrogen projects to advance the decarbonisation of industry

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

The Council of Ministers has allocated €794 million in direct aid to seven large projects for the production and intensive use of renewable hydrogen in industrial activities financed by the European Commission. The aim is to encourage production in proximity to consumption to encourage the substitution of fossil fuel energy with hydrogen, and to ensure that users experience the benefits of decarbonisation from the outset.

The Third Vice-President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, stressed that the projects add up to 652 megawatts of power, "a significant contribution to what we have set out in the roadmap for renewable hydrogen in our country, which is 4 gigawatts". The initiatives will mobilise some €6 billion of investment over their lifetime.

Five of the projects integrate hydrogen production with its transformation and consumption in large industrial clusters. These 'renewable hydrogen valleys' are located in Andalusia (Cadiz), Asturias (Aboño), Castilla-La Mancha (Puertollano), Murcia (Cartagena) and the Basque Country (Bilbao). The other two smaller projects will replace fossil energy in industrial sectors in Aragon (Teruel and Zaragoza).

This boost to renewable hydrogen is "proof that this is a viable solution that allows for decarbonising industrial processes where electrification is not an option", Ribera pointed out. The vice-president announced that in the coming weeks grants will be announced for the creation of new 'hydrogen valleys'.

More renewable electricity generation

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

The Executive has regulated the installation of floating photovoltaic plants in reservoirs located in the public hydraulic domain of the state's hydrographic confederations.

The Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge pointed out that Spain is the world's leading country in terms of meeting demand through solar energy, at a percentage of over 21%, according to data from the International Energy Agency. Floating solar plants, she added, are already a reality in many irrigation ponds because they reduce energy costs for irrigators, but there is also growing interest in installing them in state-owned reservoirs.

The regulation governs the granting of permission for the installation, either at the request of an interested party or because the confederations put the operation out to tender. Teresa Ribera pointed out that the Government has approached this issue "in a prudent manner", guaranteeing the compatibility of this use with hydrological plans and pre-existing rights. Installations may occupy a maximum of 5% to 15% of the total surface area of the reservoir, depending on water quality: the worse the water quality, the greater the coverage can be.

In any case, the installation shall be subject to the supervision of the competent river basin organisation, and the installation of solar plants in lakes, lagoons or bodies of water that are not artificial or protected is prohibited. The operation of these plants may not exceed 25 years.

Protection of marine biodiversity

The Government has submitted to the Spanish Parliament for ratification the UN treaty for the protection of biodiversity in the ocean beyond the jurisdictional waters of each country, better known as the High Seas Treaty. President Pedro Sánchez signed the treaty last September in New York. The agreement, negotiated over almost 20 years, articulates mechanisms for the protection of marine biodiversity, and establishes a system for equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the exploration of marine genetic resources.

The third vice-president stressed the importance of the treaty for Spain, "a country that is enormously committed not only to environmental issues, but also to protecting the ocean".

Guarantee of water supply

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

The Council of Ministers has approved the modification of the agreement for the direct management of Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas (Acuamed) to cover new actions of great importance for the recovery of water quality in aquifers, and to guarantee water supply.

The most advanced action, with an immediate tender, is the expansion of the desalination plant in Tordera (Girona), which will triple its current capacity. The works are expected to be completed by the end of 2028. The modification of the agreement also includes the start of work on the Foix desalination plant (Barcelona), the interconnection of the seawater desalination plants of general interest in the Segura basin, the improvement of the use of treated or regenerated water in Alicante, and desalination actions on the Costa del Sol (Malaga) and in the Levante region of Almeria.

The Executive has also approved the extension works and the operation and maintenance service for the Águilas desalination plant (Murcia).

Progress in the preservation of Doñana

The third vice-president presented a report to the Council of Ministers on actions to guarantee the preservation of the Doñana National Park. Teresa Ribera has assured that the investments, worth almost €700 million, are "working properly". The most advanced, she explained, are those aimed at restoring river ecosystem functioning, and progress has also been made in the socio-economic field to support the investments of the 14 municipalities around Doñana that are seeking to reduce the pressure on the park's water.

Teresa Ribera thanked Miguel Delibes, who yesterday chaired the Doñana Participation Council for the last time, for his work and for "his commitment to the best scientific knowledge and to the park, this emblematic space for all Europeans and for ecosystems worldwide".

Exhumation and identification of remains in the Valley of Cuelgamuros

The Government has agreed to award a grant of €1.15 million to continue and complete the research, exhumation, identification and repair work in the Valley of Cuelgamuros, the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, explained.

The grant will finance the necessary actions to enable the accesses to the pending crypts, which will make possible the repair and dignification of the ossuaries, and for the exhumation and identification of the remains of victims of the war and Franco's dictatorship claimed by families.

The minister pointed out that in 2021, the government conceded a "more modest" subsidy to initiate actions in cases where there was a prior request from the relatives of the buried persons. Torres said that 170 applications have been received, 12 people have already been identified and five more will be identified in the coming weeks.

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

Ángel Víctor Torres detailed that there are 33,800 corpses in the Valley of Cuelgamuros, and the objective of the Government is to continue with this "work of reparation, justice and equality", and to guarantee the right of the relatives who claim it to recover the remains of the victims.

Furthermore, yesterday the Official State Gazette published the agreement declaring the Monument to the Martyrs of Freedom in Almería a Place of Democratic Memory. The minister recalled that the monument commemorates the Coloraos, "the heroes of Almería who stood up to the absolutism of Fernando VII, defended the 1912 Constitution and were silenced during the Franco dictatorship". It is, he remarked, the third designated Place of Democratic Memory, after the Valley of Cuelgamuros and Gernika-Lumo.

Spanish nationality status

In the area of Democratic Memory, the Council of Ministers has also approved extending by one year the deadline for exercising the right to opt for Spanish nationality under the law.

Ángel Víctor Torres stressed that the Law of Democratic Memory recognises the right to claim nationality for the grandchildren and children of Spanish exiles who had to leave the country for political, ideological, sexual orientation or other reasons and lost their nationality.

The minister indicated that the deadline for applications was 22 October 2024, but an extension is necessary to accommodate all applicants, who number more than 300,000.

Navarre's Foral Regime on traffic matters

The Government has approved the referral to the Spanish Parliament for its definitive approval the Draft Organic Law that modifies the Organic Law on Reintegration and Improvement of the Foral Regime of Navarre (LORAFNA), with the aim of reintegrating to this autonomous community the full exercise of functions in matters of traffic, motor vehicle circulation and road safety.

The Minister for Territorial Policy recalled that the Executive had already approved this transfer in 2023, but the Supreme Court considered that a royal decree was not the instrument by which to give a community a competence that was not regulated in its autonomous statute. Furthermore, he pointed out that the decision affects the functions and services provided by the Traffic Group of the Guardia Civil in Navarre. The Supreme Court added that the autonomous community could assume these competences by reforming the LORAFNA, or by means of the organic law of transfer or delegation established in Article 150.2 of the Constitution.

The Government and the Provincial Council of Navarre then reached a consensus on a proposal to reform the LORAFNA, the text of which was approved on 23 May last by the Navarrese Parliament with a large majority and sent to the Government so that it could, in turn, send it to the Spanish Parliament.

Ángel Víctor Torres has detailed that article 49 of the LORAFNA has been modified so that Navarre adds the competence to execute the state legislation and the functions of traffic surveillance and control to the powers it has been assuming in this area. In addition, police powers in this area are transferred to the Navarre Regional Police.

Support for victims of sexual violence

Pool Moncloa/José Manuel Álvarez

The Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, has reported on the approval by the Council of Ministers of the royal decree regulating economic aid for victims of sexual violence. This aid, included in the Organic Law on the Integral Guarantee of Sexual Freedom, aims to guarantee economic autonomy and thereby facilitate the integral recovery of the most vulnerable victims.

As Alegría explained, the group that will benefit from this measure will be victims who can prove that they have insufficient economic resources, below the minimum wage. The assistance they will receive will be a minimum equivalent to unemployment benefit for 6 months, extendable up to 18 months depending on the victim's family responsibilities or disability.

Other topical issues: NATO summit and European Championship semi-finals

In her speech, the Government Spokesperson referred to Pedro Sánchez's trip to Washington, where the President of the Government will take part in the NATO Summit, an event "of the utmost importance", she argued, due to the 75th anniversary of the Atlantic Alliance and the delicate international geopolitical context, marked by the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.

"The objective of this summit is clear: to send a resounding message of unity and cohesion of the allied states in matters of defence and security and to reaffirm, of course, NATO's commitment to Ukraine, an objective that Spain firmly shares," Alegría said.

The Minister for Sport ended her speech with a message of support for the Spanish national football team in the hours leading up to their Eurocup semi-final match against France: "We have a magnificent national team and magnificent players and, of course, this afternoon we will all be supporting our national team, supporting La Roja".

Non official translation