Duro Felguera, a Spanish company specialised in turnkey projects and services in the fields of energy, mining & handling, and oil & gas, has signed an agreement with Hunosa and Nortegas to develop green hydrogen projects in the central area of Asturias. The projects will focus on the production, storage, transport, injection into the natural gas network and use in mobility of this renewable gas.

Duro Felguera and Hunosa have already been working on project definition to drive the socio-economic fabric of the regions affected by the end of mining. At the same time, they seek to offer efficient energy solutions, based on the circular economy and in keeping with the Just Transition Strategy of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). Starting from those premises, incorporating partners to cover aspects such as network injection and mobility was deemed to be crucial. Thus, NORTEGAS was brought onboard to contribute its expertise in managing the gas network.

As the first result of this agreement, the companies have submitted several projects to the Expression of Interest launched by the Ministry on 19 December, for production plants, storage, transport, injection into the natural gas natural and use in mobility in the Coalfield Area. The projects take into account the most appropriate injection points into the Nortegas network and the logistics to get the hydrogen produced to consumers to be used in transport and in industry.

The projects will be developed and scaled to the evolution of the envisaged demand of this renewable gas in the Ministry’s Hydrogen Roadmap. Several hydrogen consumers, including transport companies, have already confirmed their interest in the projects and in the potential use of the hydrogen produced.

As part of the project development, meetings have been held with different stakeholders, including Oviedo University, a lynchpin as the Ministry’s roadmap requires hydrogen technologies to be studied at degree level, in intermediate and advanced vocational training cycles, and in research. Thus, the project, mainly in the first phase, will also include educational and research dimensions.

The projects also have the backing of the Spanish Hydrogen Association and the National Hydrogen Centre, the centre of reference for the research in Spain, aimed at driving technological and scientific research into hydrogen and fuel-cell technologies.

Duro Felguera, Hunosa and Nortegas are also actively involved in the Asturias Hydrogen Board, set up by the Directorate of Energy, Mining & Reactivation and the Asturian Energy Foundation (FAEN), thus showing their commitment to driving this energy carrier to transform the region.