Friday, May 12, 2023, 00:16
In every crisis, opportunities arise and it is societies, companies and institutions that have the capacity to transform barriers into solutions that point towards the future. Faced with climate change that marks 2030 as the deadline to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and reduce CO2 emissions, the search for ‘green’ options to face the challenge of decarbonization is imminent in this countdown.
The focus is on hydrogen, which despite being the most abundant element in the universe because it is present in 75% of matter, is found in a pure and reactive form, which requires infrastructure, technology and research to transform it. in energy. And the Region of Murcia, and specifically the Escombreras Valley, has the necessary conditions to lead as a producer of so-called green hydrogen, that is, hydrogen from renewable sources, being an essential decarbonised energy pole in the energy transition.
This is how the II Green Hydrogen + Renewable Gases Meeting took place yesterday, organized by LA VERDAD with the sponsorship of Repsol, Engie, CT Ingenieros, Navantia and the Murcia Region Green Hydrogen Sector Association (Ahmur), moderated yesterday by the delegate of this newspaper in Cartagena, Gregorio Mármol, at the El Batel Auditorium and Conference Center. “Today’s world is decarbonized in terms of our social and economic activity, and it is intended to be achieved through energy efficiency and the use of renewable energies,” said Horacio Sánchez, General Director of Energy, during the opening of the event. and Industrial and Mining Activity of the Community.
In this last aspect, he pointed out that by 2026 most of the energy produced in the Region could “be of renewable origin”, and encouraged the development of technologies, as has been done with solar, to develop knowledge and take advantage of the “window of opportunity that green hydrogen is going to offer us”.
Currently, with a consumption in Spain of 500,000 tons of hydrogen per year, 90% is so-called gray hydrogen, which comes from fossil fuels. “Green hydrogen is an energy vector that must be generated, compressed to high pressures and transported to generate electricity”, as highlighted by Eduardo de San Nicolás, president of Ahmur, which requires “creating new infrastructures or modifying existing ones”.
In this regard, he pointed out that the green hydrogen valleys are the best place to produce and use this gas, generating “a series of interconnected companies, citizens and public administration, so that it is produced and consumed in a specific geographical area and the surplus”. In this regard, the Region of Murcia has a series of conditions that make green hydrogen an opportunity in itself: energy independence that gives it a lower cost, high irradiation and highly qualified professional companies in the sector. “Producing 1 kg of hydrogen with solar energy is 2.8% more efficient in the Region of Murcia than the national average,” he added.
The initial application of H2 starts from “industries that need high temperatures and air and sea transport, being a complement to natural gas”, since “everything that refers to domestic consumption is electrified, which makes it difficult to consume H2”, reported Ginés Delgado, Engie CT plant manager. “In anything that is very difficult to electrify or is not profitable, hydrogen is an ally,” added Eduardo de San Nicolás.
Thus, “the citizen will not be directly affected”, according to the director of the Office of CT Ingenieros, José Miguel Morales, since the demand comes from the main industrial poles, the challenge being “to transition the production of hydrogen to a renewable origin and that pollutes less and less. “This is not going to be overnight, because technologies will coexist until complete substitution is given, because we have to solve the logistics part,” added Amós Fuentes, director of Hydrogen at Navantia Seaenergies, which is committed to “vectors that come from hydrogen as a solution to naval transport”. “This is an initial process, as happened with wind power in its day, and that over time its efficiency and manufacturing capacity will increase,” added de San Nicolás, encouraging “to think about a multi-energy future.”
In industrial poles
For the experts, the strategy should start from pioneering projects that grow around the industrial poles, which is where demand is focused, since “the greater the distance between the point of generation and the point of need, the more difficult it will be to encourage the energy transition” , said the head of Hydrogen Development and Commercial Origin of Engie Spain, Eduardo Negueruela. In this regard, Eduardo de San Nicolás encouraged “producing and exporting energy, interconnecting transport networks to unite valleys and move surpluses from one place to another”, for which he pointed out “establishing trunk infrastructures dedicated to hydrogen”.
“Hydrogen gives us security of supply, it can be stored, it helps combat climate change, it improves air quality, it has better energy density per kilo of plant, it ensures continuity in the use of resources and it is energy independent” , detailed the Repsol Hydrogen manager, Ana María Martínez, as advantages. She stressed that “the time is now”, because “all the political commitment has materialized in the necessary subsidies to make H2 a reality, with public money that makes these projects economically viable”, she added.
However, Negueruela encouraged “taking care of expectations” because “much remains to be done”, aiming for a goal of total decarbonization and 0 emissions in 2050. “We need everyone’s involvement, because green hydrogen is the tool for decarbonization and has to guide us towards the energy transition”, he clarified.
The cost, the barrier of the energy transition
Despite the opportunities offered by green hydrogen, one of the main barriers for it to lead the energy transition is its cost, which is estimated at around 3.68 euros/kg, which requires “decarbonization at a fair price”. for society,” said José Miguel Morales. “The key is to reduce costs, because today it is not as competitive as we would like, and this has to come from the improvement of the technology itself and a boost from regulation,” added Negueruela.
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Horacio Sanchez Navarro. General Director of Energy and Industrial and Mining Activity
“Green hydrogen is a window of opportunity for Cartagena and the Region” -
Edward of Saint Nicholas. President of Ahmur
«Producing 1 kg of hydrogen with solar energy is 2.8% more efficient in the Region of Murcia than the national average» -
Ginés Delgado. Engie CT Plant Manager
«Everything that refers to domestic consumption can be electrified, which makes it difficult for it to consume H2» -
Ana Maria Martinez. Repsol Hydrogen Manager
“All the political commitment has materialized in subsidies, which are necessary for the H2 to be a reality” -
Antonio Sanchez Goya. Renewable Energy Expert
«Biomethane is considered an increasingly relevant solution to achieve decarbonisation objectives» -
Jose Miguel Morales Morcillo. CT Engineers Office Director
“We need a National or European Hydrological Plan that resolves the possible problems we may have with water” -
Eduardo Negueruela. Head of Hydrogen Development at Engie Spain
“Spain should not lose this wave of opportunity to develop its own technology” -
Amos Fuentes Mellinas. Director of Hydrogen at Navantia Seanergies
“Technologies will coexist until complete replacement is given and logistics are resolved” -
Miguel Angel Fernandez. Manager of the National Hydrogen Center
“Green hydrogen consumes half as much water as gray and blue hydrogen, which means savings”
Amós Fuentes stressed that “Spain should not lose this wave of opportunity to develop its own technology and have capacities for the generation of hydrogen”, and alluded to 0-emission propulsion systems that allow its final use, with public aid as a boost. “If there is that conviction, we must take advantage of it because we can be the technological leader in Europe,” he added.
In addition to the costs, the manager of the National Hydrogen Center, Miguel Ángel Fernández, alluded to the lack of availability of equipment and the shortage of professionals as barriers on the horizon for the energy transition with green hydrogen. He adds a focus that is of particular concern in the Region of Murcia: water use. “Green hydrogen consumes half as much water as gray and blue hydrogen, which means savings with what we have now,” Fernández highlighted.
Regarding its origin, and given the lack of resources “on land”, Amós Fuentes pointed to “desalination or the linking of hydrogen generation to renewable energy parks as a complementary solution”. “If we used desalinated water, the production energy cost would only increase by 1%,” seconded Eduardo de San Nicolás. For his part, José Miguel Morales pointed to a National or European Hydrological Plan that “resolves the possible problems that we may have in the future related to water so that it is not a problem when developing green hydrogen.”
Escombreras, a green valley bet
The Escombreras Valley is a great energy pole, which makes it the epicenter of Shyrius, a commitment to a hydrogen valley in the Region of Murcia that contributes to the substitution of gray hydrogen. It encompasses different projects ranging from the implementation of hydrogen plants to networks to transport hydrogen and interconnect gas pipelines, or energy storage systems.
In addition, Repsol is promoting the construction of a renewable hydrogen and oxygen generation plant at the Cartagena industrial complex through the water electrolysis process, whose electrolyser will be powered by local renewable energy. Its objective is to reduce 167,000 tons of CO2 abatement per year, and natural gas by 56,000 tons per year, in addition to generating 3,000 jobs.
With a view to 2030, Repsol has set a goal of producing more than two million tons of renewable fuels nationwide, in addition to promoting the creation of large regional hubs focused on renewable hydrogen with the aim of matching production and demand.
The potential of biogas
The expert in Renewable Energies and Project Manager of CT Ingenieros, Antonio Sánchez Goya, brought biogas opportunities to the II Green Hydrogen + Renewable Gases Meeting. He proposed biomethane as “an increasingly relevant solution to achieve the objectives of decarbonization and reduction of dependency on the outside”, since it allows waste to be used by betting on circular economy strategies and solving the existing waste management problem in Spain. In fact, the Region is the fourth community in the country that generates the most waste per inhabitant, to which the expert encouraged that “it could be a raw material for an energy source.” In the Region, he indicated, there is capacity to build 40 biomethane plants with a potential of 3.47 TWh, with an investment of 700 million euros and the creation of 1,000 jobs, which could contribute to replacing 12% of gas consumption. naturally by biomethane.
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