The scheme will contribute to the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal to accelerate the decarbonisation of EU industry while strengthening its competitiveness, of the REPowerEU Plan to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green transition, as well as the EU Hydrogen Strategy.

Spain notified the Commission of its intention to introduce a scheme to support the production of renewable hydrogen through the “Auctions-as-a-Service” tool within the European Hydrogen Bank. The approved scheme will support construction of up to 345 megawatts of installed electrolyser capacity, and the production of up to 221,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen in Spain. This is estimated to result in the avoidance of the equivalent of up to one million tonnes of CO2. The scheme will help Spain achieve its national objective to install 12 gigawatts of electrolyser capacity by 2030, as well as the targets for the share of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs) consumed in transport and in industry that are set in the Renewable Energy Directive.

The aid will be awarded through a competitive bidding process that concluded in the first quarter of 2025. The bidding process will be supervised by the European Climate, Infrastructure, and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) which will receive, assess, and rank bids for projects in all Member States. The support provided under the schemes will be open to companies planning to construct new electrolysers in Spain.

Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of a direct grant per kilogram of renewable hydrogen produced. The aid will be granted for a maximum duration of ten years. Beneficiaries will have to prove compliance with EU criteria for the production of renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBOs). This includes contributing to the deployment or financing of the additional renewable electricity which is needed to produce the hydrogen supported under the scheme.