Questions and answers about green hydrogen and the project that will put Malaga on the map

Malaga received good news from China this week: multinational Hygreen Energy, a leading manufacturer of the machines needed to produce green hydrogen, known as electrolysers, has chosen Malaga to set up a components factory to supply the European and American markets. The announcement was made during the regional government's official trip to China. For the time being there are no full details and there had been some mixed messages prior to the visit. Initially there was some talk that Malaga was going to be the site of a green hydrogen production plant, but this latest announcement at least makes it clear that the project is focused on the technology necessary to obtain this fuel, not on production of the fuel itself.

The physical remoteness of the place where the announcement was made, the scarce information provided and also the general lack of knowledge about this energy source have no doubt contributed to this confusion.

These are some of the questions raised by this project and the answers that can be provided at this stage:

The term 'green hydrogen' refers to the production of hydrogen generated by low-emission renewable energies. In other words, green hydrogen is just ordinary hydrogen that is produced by environmentally friendly methods. These methods differ from those that have been used in the past as these are based on fossil fuels and are therefore polluting. For example, what is known as grey hydrogen is the hydrogen obtained by steam methane reformation of natural gas (but without capturing the greenhouse gases made in the process) and accounts for 95% of the hydrogen produced today. One of the formulae for producing green hydrogen is the electrolysis of water, that is, separating the water molecules into their two elements - oxygen and hydrogen.

To sum up, hydrogen has been used as an energy source for a long time. In fact, the first functional combustion engine invented in 1863 was powered by hydrogen. The key to whether it is green or not is how that hydrogen is produced. If it is produced from fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas or methane), it generates pollutant emissions, but if it is produced from renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro), it gives rise to so-called green, or clean, hydrogen.

Green hydrogen is neither an energy source nor a fuel in itself, rather it is an energy carrier. What does this mean? It is a means of storing energy that has been produced by primary energy sources (light, heat, electrical energy or combinations of these sources) for transporting and releasing it when and where it is needed. It is like a battery, an energy transporter that allows energy to be moved from the primary energy source to where it is needed.

Both the European Union and the Spanish government are committed to green hydrogen as a tool to accelerate the decarbonisation of the economy.

Some of the specific uses of green hydrogen are...

Electricity generation: can be used in fuel cells or batteries to generate electricity cleanly. These cells combine hydrogen with oxygen from the air to produce electricity, water and heat with no pollutant emissions.

Transport: green hydrogen is used as a fuel in hydrogen vehicles, including cars, buses, trucks and trains. It offers an alternative to fossil fuels and electric batteries, especially in long-range, energy-demanding applications.

Industry: can be used for steel and ammonia production, processes that currently rely on fossil fuels. Green hydrogen can decarbonise these sectors by replacing hydrogen produced from natural gas with hydrogen from renewable sources.

Energy storage: surplus renewable energy (solar, wind) can be stored in the form of hydrogen. This energy can then be converted into electricity or used in other processes where appropriate.

Heating and air conditioning: can be used in heating and air-conditioning systems for buildings and homes, providing a clean alternative to natural gas.

Synthetic fuel production: by combining green hydrogen with captured carbon dioxide, synthetic fuels can be produced that can replace fossil fuels in aviation and other hard-to-electrify sectors.

The main method of obtaining green hydrogen right now is the electrolysis of water, which is nothing more than separating water molecules (H₂O) into oxygen (O₂) and hydrogen (H₂) using electricity. This process is carried out in a device called an electrolyser, which consists of two electrodes (anode and cathode) and a membrane that allows ions to pass through. What distinguishes green hydrogen is that the electricity used during the electrolysis process comes from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind or hydroelectric, which ensures that there are no carbon emissions (greenhouse gases). In this process, the only by-product is oxygen, making the process extremely clean.

No. Chinese company Hygreen Energy is a manufacturer of electrolysers and what it has planned to install in Malaga is a production plant for certain components for these electrolysers. In other words, Malaga will form part of the green hydrogen value chain through its contribution to the technology needed to produce it, but hydrogen will not be produced here. That will be done in Huelva, where a whole production set-up for this branch of energy is being planned, and several production plants are already in the pipeline. In fact, Hygreen has also announced this week a green hydrogen production plant in Huelva with the company Kemtenia at an estimated investment of 2 billion euros.

What has been announced this week in Beijing is the installation in Malaga of a manufacturing plant for components destined to form part of the electrolysers or green hydrogen production plants. No further information is available at this stage.

Nor have the deadlines for this project, the estimated investment or its precise location been detailed. The only detail that the company has communicated, according to Europa Press, is that it will provide 1000 jobs.

It should be noted that the development of green hydrogen is very recent. In 2020, 99% of hydrogen was still produced from carbon-based sources. We are now at a critical stage for its expansion and evolution thanks to significant technological and infrastructural advances and government support within energy transition plans, but there are still significant challenges to overcome. By 2030, a production capacity of 45 million tonnes of clean hydrogen is expected globally. However, much of the planned infrastructure is still in the early planning stages.

Green hydrogen faces several key challenges if it is to become a globally dominant energy solution, such as the need for specific regulations, reducing production costs and expanding the storage and transport infrastructure. The key is to make green hydrogen competitive with other energy sources.

The European Union aims to become the world's most hydrogen-intensive region by 2030. It estimates that it will need 20 million tonnes to meet its decarbonisation needs. Half of this sum is intended to be imported from third countries. To boost the green hydrogen industry, it has made more than 25 billion euros available through the various funding mechanisms set up for hydrogen projects.

Regarding Spain, the European Court of Auditors (ECA), has recently issued a report on green hydrogen that takes Spain to task for its renewable hydrogen strategy. Its target of reaching 4 GW of installed electrolyser capacity by 2030 reflects a moderate ambition compared to other European countries such as Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Greece. The European authority acknowledges that the total number of projects announced so far (totalling 45.9 gigawatts of generating capacity) suggests strong interest and growth potential, but almost half of them (12.6 GW) are still in the feasibility and planning stages.

Green hydrogen is considered a clean energy solution, but its development is not without potential negative environmental effects. The production of green hydrogen by electrolysis requires large quantities of ultrapure water. To generate one tonne of hydrogen requires approximately 11,000 litres of water.

Environmental organisations also fear the environmental and landscape impact of the manufacturing infrastructure and, above all, of the renewable energy plants that are needed to power the electrolysis process.

In February 2021 some 30 companies announced the H2med project, a trans-European initiative to connect the Iberian Peninsula's hydrogen transport network with northwest Europe and provide the continent with an affordable green hydrogen supply by 2030. However, European environmental organisations expressed their opposition to the project as being based on an export model that could compromise a reasonable energy transition. These groups pointed out that the project could generate significant environmental impacts within Spain due to the need to develop large renewable energy facilities and the demand for water for the electrolysers. They also questioned the need for such an infrastructure, claiming that transporting hydrogen over long distances is costly and inefficient.