EDP starts the process for its first large hydrogen plant

EDP has started the environmental processing of what will be its first large green hydrogen plant in Spain. The company, presided by Miguel Stilwell and managed in Spain by Ana Paula Marques, plans to start operating the first 100 MW in October 2025, and subsequently increase capacity to 150 MW. Specifically, 20 MW in January 2026 and another 30 MW by the end of the same year.

The electricity company will invest around 250 million euros in the first phase for the start-up of the facility, which is expected to supply both the company itself, which will use part of the hydrogen to produce electricity in Aboño group 2, and large Asturian industries such as Du Pont and Cementos de Tudela Veguín.

The company also expects to carry out a second phase with which it aims to reach 350 MW by the end of 2030.

EDP's request comes just after the CNMC has given its approval to reorganize the corporate structure of its Aboño and Soto thermal power plants in order to undertake this investment process aimed at turning them into important hydrogen production centers. The electricity company has just received authorization from the CNMC to transfer the ownership of both plants from EDP Spain to two individual companies: Aboño Generaciones Eléctricas and Central Térmica Ciclo Combinado Grupo 4.

Both companies will be the owners of the facilities to be transferred and will be incorporated at the time of the execution of the spin-off operation, after obtaining the administrative authorization from the General Directorate of Energy Policy.

Hydrogen valley

The Aboño plant aims to become the Asturian hydrogen valley and has already been considered as a strategic project by the European Commission, as has the Soto de Ribera project.

Aboño, which applied for this permit on November 8, is located in the municipality of Carreño and has two generation groups using coal (hard coal and anthracite). Group 1 has a generation capacity of 341.79 MW of net power. Group 2 has a net power capacity of 561.885 MW.

EDP also requested on August 22 the transfer of ownership of the Soto 5 Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant, owned by EDP Spain, to the Group 4 Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant.

Group 5 of the Soto de Ribera Combined Cycle Thermal Power Plant is located in the municipality of Ribera de Arriba. It is a generation group with a total net power of 428.13 MW.

They are calling for an agreement on infrastructures

Hydrogen Europe and 120 organizations, including Repsol, FRV and Engie, have signed a letter addressed to the Member States, the Parliament and the European Commission calling for an agreement on the Regulation on alternative fuels infrastructures in the trialogue of March 27. The signatories highlight the slowness of the binding national minimum targets for infrastructure deployment.