The energy company Moeve has begun construction of the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley in Palos de la Frontera, with an investment exceeding €1 billion and over 8,000 jobs expected.
Moeve has kicked off the works for the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley at the Energy Park that the company has in Palos de la Frontera. The initiative, named Onuba, will deploy 300 megawatts of electrolysis capacity, expandable by another 105 megawatts, according to information published by investinspain.org.
The project is led by Moeve, owned by the Emirati Mubadala Investment Company with a 51% stake. The French fund Hy24, specialised in renewable hydrogen, holds another 29% along with Cofides. The planned investment in this first phase exceeds €1 billion, and includes generation infrastructure and a self-consumption photovoltaic plant.
The Government has granted financing of €304 million through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, funded by the NextGenerationEU funds from the European Union. Brussels has recognised the project as a Project of Common Interest.
During the development, construction, and commissioning phases, Onuba will generate over 8,000 jobs including direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the entire value chain. Additionally, it will provide activity for more than 400 local SMEs and freelancers.
The facility will produce around 45,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year, intended for the manufacture of more sustainable fuels for road transport, aviation, and the maritime sector, as well as for the decarbonisation of other industries. It will be the company's first native digital plant, with an integrated digital twin from its design and a unified data and Internet of Things platform.
The complete project of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley plans for 2 gigawatts of electrolysis capacity distributed between Moeve's energy parks in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque (Cádiz). It is the largest project of this energy vector in Europe.
Alongside Onuba, the company is building a biofuels plant in Huelva that will begin producing sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel in 2027. Both projects total an investment of €2.4 billion and, according to the company, are two of the four largest industrial projects currently underway in Spain.
"Today we leave behind the era of pilot projects for green hydrogen to move towards the construction of large-scale projects. The Onuba project consolidates Spain in the European lead for the production of new sustainable energies and represents a decisive step towards achieving a more competitive and energy-autonomous Europe," stated Moeve's CEO, Maarten Wetselaar.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, has argued that renewable hydrogen has become "a true national project" and has cited the government's measures aimed at "creating a market and stimulating demand" to "provide certainty for investment, expand supply, and facilitate the materialisation of industrial projects in the territory."
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