Madrid-based energy company Moeve announced a final investment decision to begin construction on the largest green hydrogen project in Southern Europe.
Green hydrogen is viewed as one of the key building blocks of the transition to a cleaner energy future, particularly for industrial and transport sectors with difficult to abate emissions, in which renewable energy solutions such as wind or solar are less practical. Moeve said that green hydrogen produced at the facility will be used to support the decarbonization aviation, road and marine transport fuels, in addition to supplying energy to decarbonize the chemical and fertilizer industries.
According to the company, the first phase of the project, known as Onuba, will have a capacity of 300 MW and the option to expand by an additional 100 MW, subject to regulatory approval. The plant is projected to produce around 45,000 tons of green hydrogen per year, and reduce CO2 emissions by 250,000 tons annually.
Investment in the first phase is expected to be more than €1 billion (USD$1.2 billion). The Onuba investment includes infrastructure and the development of a self consumption photovoltaic plant. Moeve will retain a 51% majority ownership of the project, with energy developers Masdar and Enalter holding the remaining stake.
The initiative received €304 million from the Spanish government under the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program.
Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Moeve, said:
“This decision to launch Southern Europe’s largest green hydrogen plant marks a defining step in Moeve’s Positive Motion transformation strategy. Onuba will anchor a world-class hub for green molecules in Spain, supplying renewable fuels to hard-to-abate sectors while reinforcing Europe’s energy and industrial resilience.
