The Spanish renewable hydrogen market in 2026 is going through a different phase than in the first major announcements.
The race to accumulate gigawatts of pipeline is beginning to give way to other types of milestones: final investment decisions, supply contracts, premiums linked to effective production, infrastructure advances and also abandonments of projects that had passed European competitive processes .
The movements recorded during the first eight months of the year also leave a less homogeneous picture.
While Moeve and Repsol have given the green light to large electrolyzers , other developments have been dropped from the aid allocation and allowed the entry of initiatives located further down the list of the European Hydrogen Bank.
At the same time, H2med and the Spanish Backbone Network are beginning to move from planning to engineering and permits.
These are ten of the movements that are shaping the Spanish market in 2026 .
1. Moeve takes Onuba to FID and puts 300 MW on the road to construction
One of the largest movements came from Huelva.
Moeve's board of directors approved the final investment decision for Onuba , the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley, with 300 MW of electrolysis and the possibility of later expanding by another 105 MW.
The project will mobilize over €1 billion , including associated infrastructure and a photovoltaic installation for self-consumption. Its planned capacity is around 45,000 tons of renewable hydrogen per year .
The company also awarded thyssenkrupp nucera the contract to supply the alkaline electrolyzers for those first 300 MW.
The leap is especially relevant because Onuba was part of the group of projects supported in 2025 by the H2 Valles program and now moves from public support to an approved investment.
2. Repsol approves another 100 MW at Petronor
January brought another three-figure investment decision.
Repsol has given the green light to a 100 MW electrolyzer at Petronor , in Muskiz, which will require €292 million and is scheduled to begin operations in 2029.
The facility will be able to produce up to 15,000 tons of renewable hydrogen per year , mainly intended to replace current consumption within the refinery itself and supply industrial activities in the surrounding area.
The project, recognized as IPCEI, also has €160 million in support from NextGenerationEU .
This makes it the second large-scale electrolyzer approved by the energy company after the Cartagena project.
3. €274.2 million change hands in the second Spanish auction
The most recent distribution of aid left four beneficiaries: ATLAS, QUIXOTGEN, P-HYNET and ZARAGOZAH2V .
The facilities will be located in A Coruña, Albacete, Ciudad Real and Zaragoza and total 102.27 MW of electrolysis .
The IDAE awarded them €274.2 million through the second Spanish call for Auctions as a Service, linked to the European Hydrogen Bank.
Unlike a conventional CAPEX subsidy, the support will be charged based on the RFNBO hydrogen actually produced and certified , over a maximum period of ten years.
The design attempts to address one of the gaps that continues to hinder projects: the difference between the price needed to make renewable production viable and what the buyer is currently willing to pay.
4. Iberdrola withdraws from NOON II and ODIN and forces a re-arrangement of the auction
The final resolution in August was very different from the picture left by May.
Initially, Spain had reserved €439.4 million for NOON II, ODIN and QUIXOTGEN, three initiatives that totaled 250 MW and had been left without EU funding due to a lack of budget in the third European auction.
But NOON II and ODIN abandoned the procedure .
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The withdrawal of both projects freed up resources and opened the door to new applications from the reserve list, including ATLAS and Puertollano Hydrogen Network , promoted by Repsol.
The episode provides one of the clearest signals of the year: passing the European Hydrogen Bank's competitive assessment does not eliminate the challenges that arise before definitively committing to the investment.
Hydrogen Europe specifically warns that an awarded premium, even at low prices, does not guarantee profitability or FID (Financial Investment Derivatives). After the selection process, guarantees, financial closure, and the need to maintain the project's commercial terms become essential.
5. Three Spanish projects are among the direct winners of the European Hydrogen Bank
Spain also secured positions outside the national mechanism.
CARTAGENA H2GREEN, VILLARENDO H2GREEN and T2X appear among the Spanish projects selected directly in the third European hydrogen auction and were invited to prepare their respective grant agreements.
The IF25 call started with a European budget of €1.3 billion and again used a fixed premium per kilogram produced as an instrument to reduce the cost difference compared to fossil-based hydrogen.
Competition also drove down prices.
The third round closed with nine selected projects, more than 1 GW of electrolysis and bids that in some cases fell below €1/kg.
6. Castellón faces the year planned to begin production
While numerous Spanish projects continue to seek financing or buyers, bp and Iberdrola have 25 MW already under construction next to the Castellón refinery .
The development involves an investment of more than €70 million and is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2026.
Once operational, it is expected to produce around 2,800 tons per year , powered by a renewable PPA from Iberdrola and replacing some of the grey hydrogen currently used in the refinery processes.
Its scale is considerably smaller than the hundreds of megawatts that dominate the pipeline, but its situation allows us to observe another variable: the distance between the announced power and the capacity that actually reaches the construction site.
7. Eco2Fly and Barcelona Large Scale Electrolyzer are approaching the FID filter
Not all of the activity in 2026 involves awarding grants.
The Clean Hydrogen Partnership selected Eco2Fly and Barcelona Large Scale Electrolyzer from among only five European projects that will receive PDA Plus advanced assistance.
Spain was the only country with two initiatives within that category.
Roland Berger and Worley 's teams will begin working with the developers from September on commercial structure, technical development, regulation and governance, with the explicit goal of bringing them closer to a final investment decision.
The program does not guarantee financing or construction, but it focuses precisely on the stage where much of the European pipeline encounters the greatest difficulties.
8. BarMar enters detailed engineering
Production is not the only front that is beginning to move forward.
In July, the H2med consortium began the detailed engineering or FEED of BarMar , the future submarine link between Barcelona and Marseille, after completing the basic engineering phase.
The corridor is a central piece for connecting Iberian production with potential European consumption centers.
Its evolution thus begins to run in parallel with that of large production projects, whose bankability also depends on having infrastructure capable of transporting the generated volume.
9. The Trunk Network presents its first sections for authorization
The other infrastructure movement occurred within Spanish territory.
On June 30, Enagás requested from MITECO the administrative authorizations for the first four sections of the Spanish Hydrogen Trunk Network , along with the environmental impact statement and public utility declaration.
The company expects to present the rest between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.
The future network must connect production and consumption hubs and subsequently link to H2med.