• SEDIGAS, Nortegas, the Basque Energy Board, the Basque Government’s Industry Office, Petronor, Redexis, Nedgia and White Summit Capital took part in the session.
• Nortegas, the second natural gas distributor in Spain, and SEDIGAS, the Spanish Gas Association, have launched in Bilbao their think tank to study green hydrogen injected into natural gas infrastructures.
• The participants highlighted the potential of the gas infrastructures and our country’s extensive gas network, along with the contribution that green hydrogen can make to a cost-effective and efficient energy transition, which guarantees supply and is sustainable.

On Wednesday, Nortegas, the second natural gas distributor in Spain, and SEDIGAS, the Spanish Gas Association, launched their think tank to study green hydrogen injected into natural gas infrastructures. The meeting, held in Bilbao, discussed the current commitment to green hydrogen injection projects, the regulation in force and the legislative changes needed to undertake the full development of green hydrogen in our country, as well as to address the technological challenges of this renewable energy source.

Joan Batalla, CEO of SEDIGAS; Javier Contreras, Nortegas Managing Director; Íñigo Ansola, General Manager of the Basque Energy Board; and, Mikel Amundarain, the Basque Government’s Deputy Minister for Industry, along with representatives of the other members of the think tank, such as Petronor, Redexis, Nedgia and White Summit Capital, took part in the event.

The participants highlighted the potential of the gas infrastructures and of Spain’s extensive gas network, which could transport the hydrogen to the consumption points. The think tank is thus endeavouring to highlight the injection of green hydrogen in the natural gas network as a real alternative with the potential to contribute to a cost-effective and efficient energy transition, which guarantees supply and is sustainable. The session also assessed current national and European legislation on blending.

These events are part of the initiative by SEDIGAS and its partners to create information and dissemination meeting spaces with the different Administrations. The aim is to showcase the work being carried out through the think tank, along with the legal and technical status of the development of green hydrogen as an energy source in Spain.

Izaskun Gorostiaga, the Nortegas Commercial Development and New Businesses Director, stressed: “We are a country with huge potential to generate and distribute green hydrogen that must be secured to turn it into reality in the coming years. We therefore need to reach out to all the key public and private stakeholders that can contribute to develop tangible projects. Spain’s energy future is promising, but the necessary mechanisms must be deployed so it is a reality in the coming years.”

Joan Batalla, CEO of SEDIGAS, explained: “We are in an exceptional situation for the gases from renewable source in general and for green hydrogen in particular. Our country has the instructions. There is clear momentum by the companies to invest and develop this energy source and Europe needs to strengthen its energy sovereignty by opting for renewables. Only ambition is needed by the Administrations for the regulatory framework to underpin it and the potential of renewable gases to be exploited”.