"We want to talk about the major projects that are going to be launched thanks to green hydrogen"

In the second week of February 2024, from the 7th to the 9th of this month, Huelva will become the epicentre of green hydrogen on a global scale. The president of the 1st Green Hydrogen Congress, CEO of the company Clantech and also president of the Andalusian Hydrogen Association, talks to us about this new event.

AutoRevista.-  How did the idea of this first congress come about and why in Huelva?

Francisco Montalbán.-  Hydrogen is going to be a major player in the decarbonisation, in general, of all energy activity consumed worldwide. We must bear in mind that not all activities can be electrified and, in this sense, hydrogen can help a lot in the challenge of decarbonisation. Why in Huelva? Because Huelva is the leading consumer of hydrogen in Spain, with activities such as Fertiberia's fertilisers or the oil cracking refinery based on hydrogen and green ammonia. Therefore, the industries of the Huelva chemical pole consume the aforementioned 30% of hydrogen. 

It is also very important that this congress is promoted by the Huelva Federation of Huelva (FOE), the Huelva Federation of Huelva, a business entity to which the IQB is linked, the Huelva chemical and basic industry association, which includes the entire Huelva chemical industrial estate. The industry wants to play a leading role because hydrogen has been used for a long time in the chemical industry, as just another element, so for this sector it is not a novelty.  

We are simply changing the colour of hydrogen from grey, obtained from another gas, to green through renewable energy that can be obtained from waste water, with the possibility of generating it in Spain and reducing pollution. Industry has a lot of weight in the Congress, because things have to be done with logic and common sense in order to have a positive economic and social effect. 

Industry has a lot of weight in the Congress, because things have to be done with logic and common sense in order to have a positive economic and social effect

AR.- In 2021, ANFAC and GASNAM advocated the suitability of 125 hydrogenerators in Spain by 2025.

F.M.- I can give the example of an Iberdrola hydrogen plant currently in operation whose user is the Barcelona municipal transport company (TMB), which has managed to get the European Union to subsidise the purchase of hydrogen-powered buses by a very high percentage. Iberdrola has secured a supply contract for a series and such has been the success that after acquiring eight buses in 2021-22, it has decided to buy 38 more. Its plan was to have 60 in 2026 and will probably accelerate this. Heavy vehicles, such as lorries and buses, require significant autonomy without increasing the weight of the vehicle and decarbonising it, so the best solution is hydrogen. Also for a longer duration of their daily service time. If there were a network of hydrogen refuelling points in each city for this type of vehicle, this would open up the possibility of a future network for private vehicles and for taxis which, by changing drivers, are operational 24 hours a day, because a model can have a range of up to 800 km. 

However, a significant scale approach in passenger cars is not yet possible. Hydrogen should focus on heavy-duty vehicles, such as city buses, thanks to EU subsidies for the purchase of hydrogen and hydrogen vehicles. By generating that seed, the hydrogen business will grow. When the time comes when there are thousands of hydrogen vehicles on the road, they will take hydrogen from the atmosphere around them. On board, the vehicle has a filtration and cleaning system so that the chemical reaction in the fuel cell is optimal. They will emit excess air and moisture.

We are simply changing the colour of hydrogen from grey, obtained from another gas, to green through renewable energy that can be obtained from waste water, with the possibility of generating it in Spain and reducing pollution

AR.- What repercussions will a more or less generalised development of hydrogen have?

F.M.- There is one key point on which I want to send out a message and that is the great concern that the world of agriculture has with water. The use of water by the hydrogen sector will never be to the detriment of farmers and where there is a water deficit, we will use waste water that can be purified for the electrolysis process. Even if there is surplus water, we can give it to nearby farmers. Green hydrogen means progress to technify and industrialise Spain.

A company like Ajusa has been selling fuel cells to the hydrogen sector outside Spain for more than 40 years. The same is true of companies like Calvera or Hiperbaric, which have created an extraordinary technology that we are unable to value.

AR.- Which manufacturers and companies from the sector will be present at the Congress?

F.M.- We will have a Toyota Mirai on display and MAN will be explaining its developments in land and marine propulsion engines. Maersk will be talking about green methanol as propulsion energy. I insist that the application, today, is focused on heavy transport, which needs to be subsidised and helped to adapt. The hydrogen car will come, but when this industry evolves without haste, without affecting the existing industrial fabric in Spain.

AR.-  What fundamental objectives has this first congress set itself and what is its vocation for the future?

F.M.- There are several fundamental objectives. On the one hand, to show everyone what is needed to produce green hydrogen without fear that it will restrict water from other sectors. We want to talk about the great projects that are going to be set up thanks to green hydrogen and that are going to mean a revolution in terms of jobs, technology, industrialisation and progress. Young people need a sustainable future that protects the environment. Spain, Andalusia and Huelva have a huge opportunity with the future options that are coming in vehicle, air, rail and marine mobility. We also want to emphasize the social impact with round tables where many of the existing Hydrogen Valleys in Spain will be discussed. Public-private collaboration and synergies between producers and consumers is what will make viable projects possible. We will showcase successful projects and advance how other projects can be successful in the future. 

Public-private collaboration and synergies between producers and consumers is what will make viable projects possible

The congress will be broadcast in streaming and we will have a disseminator like Deborah García Bello who will help us to give visibility in social networks to know the social perception of hydrogen and she will try to give us a vision of how to communicate this idea at a social level to understand the advantages and also the problems that we will find, although the advantages must outweigh the disadvantages. She will also delve into the importance of minimising energy dependence.  

The mayoress of Huelva and the city have been fully committed to involving all sectors (mobility, energy, oil & gas...). In short, to raise awareness, explain and if there are any remaining doubts, we will be able to resolve them at the second Green Hydrogen Congress in Huelva.

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Interview published in AutoRevista 2.387