Green Hydrogen Breakthrough: Hunosa’s Fondón Mine Pioneers Hydrogen Production in Asturias

Green Light for Hydrogen Production at a Former Coal Hub

Mark your calendars: on 18 September 2025, Hunosa and its consortium partners finally scored the green light to build an €18 million green hydrogen plant right on the old Fondón coal mine in Langreo, Asturias. Thanks to around €9 million from the EU Research Fund for Coal and Steel (RFCS), the Mine-to-H2 initiative is all about showing how past mining giants can reinvent themselves as sustainable energy pioneers.

Harnessing Electrolysis and Circular Water Recovery

At its core, the site will house an electrolysis setup fed by a solar farm just down the road. But here’s the clever twist: rather than tapping fresh water, the plant will clean up and recycle water seeping out of the mine tunnels—giving a real-life spin to circular water recovery. The hydrogen they whip up? It can either hang out in storage or head straight through pipelines to nearby industries, boosting local hydrogen production without skipping a beat.

Strategic Partnerships and Regional Impact

Of course, Hunosa didn’t go it alone. The technical smarts come from Hyrem, Duro Felguera provides the heavy-duty engineering muscle, and Alsa is already lining up hydrogen-powered buses for test runs across Asturias. On the academic front, the University of Oviedo lends its expertise, while Poland’s Główny Instytut Górnictwa (GIG) is busy figuring out how to convert old mine caverns into reliable hydrogen storage tanks.

Why This Matters Now

Once upon a time, Asturias rode high on coal—until EU climate rules shut the mines and left towns scrambling. Now, high unemployment and shrinking communities are the norm. Mine-to-H2 is rolling up its sleeves to change that by:

• Creating skilled positions in everything from construction to daily operations and upkeep.
• Retraining ex-miners so they can jump into new careers in renewable energy.
• Delivering low-carbon fuel that drives industrial decarbonization in local factories and transport.
• Unveiling a circular economy playbook that other post-industrial regions can adapt.

Financing, Deadlines, and Policy Alignment

On the money side, half the budget comes from the EU RFCS, and there’s a hard deadline of June 2027 to wrap things up or risk losing that support. The environmental nod from the Principality of Asturias dovetails perfectly with Spain’s National Hydrogen Roadmap and the EU’s Just Transition Fund, pulling together policy strands at regional, national, and European levels.

Looking Ahead: Replicable Model for Just Transition

Today, Fondón’s not just about hydrogen. It’s a full-blown multi-vector energy playground—geothermal loops and biomass district heating are already humming. Toss in the new green hydrogen setup, and you’ve got a living lab for industrial decarbonization, sector coupling, and a slice of sustainable energy innovation. Power, heat, mobility and industry all plug into each other, showcasing how smart energy link-ups can drive down carbon footprints while boosting efficiency.

Of course, it won’t be all smooth sailing. Stakeholders still need to close the price gap between green hydrogen and fossil fuels, upgrade the grid and transport networks for new energy flows, and keep the community onboard with real, steady jobs. Nail those, and by mid-2027 we’ll have a flagship plant proving that former coal regions can leapfrog straight into a cleaner, more resilient future. Plus, it’ll send a clear message: with the right know-how and community backing, even the most battered industrial landscapes can jump straight into tomorrow’s energy economy.

Hunosa’s Fondón Mine green hydrogen plant isn’t just another electrolyzer – it’s a statement that the old and the new can co-exist, and that coal regions still have a vital role in Europe’s energy landscape.