The Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia has been officially unveiled at the Tarragona Trade Fair and Congress Centre at an event attended by policymakers and its over one hundred member businesses and organisations. It was also the venue for sealing the knowledge, science and technology partnership between Rovira i Virgili University (URV), the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), the Catalonia Energy Research Institute (IREC) and the Eurecat technology centre. Eurecat is the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia’s research and innovation hub which over recent months has been working on developing renewable hydrogen scientific and technological capabilities.
The event reaffirmed the commitment of all its stakeholders to unlocking the renewable hydrogen society and economy in response to the climate emergency. This strategic national initiative is designed to build an integrated ecosystem anchored in the hydrogen value chain, a crucial energy vector for achieving climate neutrality, whilst also making businesses more competitive and enhancing people’s wellbeing.
The event was led by Pere Aragonès, Deputy First Minister in the Government of Catalonia and Minister of Economy and Finance, who noted that Hydrogen Valley “is a prime example of the transformational projects the country needs and a huge opportunity to rework our energy usage model.” Likewise Antonio Brufau and Antonio Llardén, chairs of Repsol and Enagás respectively, said they embraced business leadership of the initiative as a challenge and a commitment to society.
All the partners are resolved to drive the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia’s growth with the primary goals of economic development and climate change mitigation and this has led to a memorandum of understanding between the key stakeholders engaged in the initiative. They were represented by Ramon Tremosa, Minister for Business and Knowledge in the Catalan Government; María José Figueras, Vice-Chancellor of Rovira i Virgili University; Noemí Llauradó, chair of Tarragona Provincial Council; Josep Maria Cruset, chair of the Tarragona Port Authority; Montserrat Ballarín, deputy chair of the Social and Economic Development Unit at the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB); Rubén Folgado, chair of the Chemical Business Association of Tarragona (AEQT), and also Antonio Brufau and Antonio Llardén as chairs of Repsol and Enagás.
For Eurecat the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia “is a crucial opportunity to foster a collaborative R&D environment which cements Catalonia’s technological and industrial positioning and leadership in the hydrogen value chain and its ancillary industry,” said Xavier López, Eurecat’s Chief Operating and Corporate Officer.
The event kicked off with an introductory address by Pau Ricomà, the Mayor of Tarragona, in which he welcomed the initiative and stressed “the city’s commitment to the project and to the rollout of renewable hydrogen.” He was followed by María José Figueras, Vice-Chancellor of Rovira i Virgili University which is coordinating and promoting the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia, who thanked all the stakeholders involved for their support. “The knowledge actors, tiers of government and businesses engaged in this initiative are looking to pool their assets and potential to become a pacesetter in the transition towards a renewable hydrogen economy and society through knowledge, research, production, distribution and use,” she said. The URV’s role involves “leading and promoting training, dissemination and research in the new renewable hydrogen value chains.”
Ramon Tremosa said the Catalan Government “fully backs” the Valley as “a strategic, competitive and transformative project with a significant impact on the region which will help bring about a much needed energy transition.” He also called on the Spanish Government to bring in “genuine co-governance in managing NextGeneration funds. We need to play a key role if we are to fully leverage the resources Europe has made available to us.”
Noemí Llauradó noted that Tarragona Provincial Council is committed to ensuring that the Tarragona region “leads the rollout of this energy model in Catalonia and becomes a driving force for development and a European showpiece in this field.” She added that “the energy transition is an issue which can be addressed particularly well at the local level in partnership and dialogue with other stakeholders.” Josep Maria Cruset also said that the Port of Tarragona backed a project in which “environmental stewardship and sustainable economic development of society come together” and as a result “we are throwing all the Port’s assets and potential into it.”
Montserrat Ballarín pointed out that the AMB is committed “to the challenges of climate change and sustainability” and emphasised that they are working to support clean energies and considerably cut private transport emissions “by investing in carbon neutrality in our area.” Ada Colau, the AMB’s chair and Mayor of Barcelona, was unable to get to Tarragona but did appear in the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia presentation video which opened the event alongside the other stakeholders. She outlined Barcelona Metropolitan Transport’s pledge to use renewable hydrogen as a fuel and to set up the first public hydrogen station in Spain.
Enagás and Repsol are the businesses at the forefront of the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia. Antonio Brufau, Repsol’s chair, said his company would be a major player in the transformation of the Tarragona petrochemical hub “by making it into an industrial innovation leader in Europe.” He added that “all of us in the Valley seek to address the energy transition challenge by engaging with society and unleashing innovation and technology.” Likewise, Antonio Llardén promised that Enagás will bring its knowhow to bear in fostering renewable hydrogen projects which are “sustainable in the long term and feature innovative technologies which support competitive industry and generate wealth and jobs.” In his view “industry is crucial to driving the reconstruction of a strong economy and society.”
Rubén Folgado, chair of the AEQT, said that the chemical industry is a proactive player in the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia as a matter of responsibility. “We’re taking on a key role in this energy transition, in this process which we can no longer put off, because we have to meet the emissions targets set by the European Union for 2030 and 2050,” he argued. “That’s in part because we’re putting our business on the line but most of all because we believe in it. Those of us working in the chemical industry are at the head of the queue in calling for our own sustainability and the need to look after our planet.”
In his closing address, Deputy First Minister Pere Aragonès described the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia as “extremely exciting” because it is “the first step towards cutting carbon emissions.” He noted that “this initiative embodies all the features of what we hope to see in the Catalonia of the future, the Catalonia which we need to start building right now.” He said that NextGeneration EU funds are an opportunity which should not be squandered, and indeed the Hydrogen Valley is one of the 27 powerhouse economic recovery projects the Catalan government plans to prioritise in qualifying for this European funding.
Aragonès also argued that the Hydrogen Valley project is much more than just a source of clean alternative energy because “it makes it possible to leverage the current economic crisis to drive the transformation the country’s manufacturing sector requires.” In his view, “the Catalan economy needs these large, ambitious and impactful projects to become more competitive and an international flagship, not least in the battle against the climate emergency.”
