The bet on hydrogen is gaining momentum again in the energy sector, at a time when Spain and other European countries are looking for ways to guarantee stable electricity without relying solely on the sun or wind. The technology now tested points to a solution designed to support electrical networks with increasingly more renewable sources.
In this sense, the Finnish company Wärtsilä announced that it managed to operate an engine powered by 100% hydrogen and supply electricity to Spain’s national grid, in a test carried out in its laboratory in Bermeo, in the north of the country. According to Wärtsilä itself, cited by , this is the world’s first large-scale demonstration of a pure hydrogen engine connected to the electrical grid in real conditions.
Engine was designed to support renewable energy
The technology was developed to respond to one of the main challenges of renewable energy: ensuring electrical production when solar and wind energy are not sufficient. Unlike fuel cells, this system uses a combustion engine adapted to run solely on hydrogen, maintaining a flexible production logic.
According to the Finnish company, this type of engine could be used in the future in power plants made up of several units, capable of producing energy whenever the grid needs support. He argues that the solution can help balance electrical systems with a strong presence of variable renewable sources.
No direct carbon emissions
The main advantage highlighted by the manufacturer is the fact that the engine runs on pure hydrogen, with no direct carbon emissions in the production of electricity. The company presents this technology as a step beyond systems prepared only for hydrogen, as it has already demonstrated real operation with 100% of this fuel.
In practice, hydrogen can function as a way to store excess renewable energy and use it later, when there is less solar or wind production. This logic gains importance as the weight of renewables in electricity grids increases, as is also highlighted in its projections for the global expansion of these sources until 2030.
Spain was the rehearsal stage
The test was carried out in Spain at a time when the country continues to reinforce the presence of renewables in the electrical system. According to Red Eléctrica, in 2025 almost 10 GW of new wind and solar photovoltaic power were installed, a figure that rises to 11.6 GW when self-consumption is included.
The same entity indicates that renewables represented 55.5% of Spanish electrical production in 2025, a percentage that rises to 56.6% when self-consumption is considered. These numbers help explain the importance of solutions capable of responding when renewable production drops.
There are still obstacles ahead
Despite technological advances, the large-scale use of hydrogen continues to depend on strong investments in production, storage and transportation. In Spain, the Government provisionally authorized Enagás to develop hydrogen networks recognized as Projects of Common European Interest, including connections with Portugal and France, according to MITECO.
This decision includes the Portugal-Spain hydrogen interconnector, interior infrastructures in Spanish territory, a Spain-France connection and storage facilities in the Basque Country and Cantabria. The table shows that hydrogen is seen as relevant for decarbonization, but it also confirms that industrial scale requires planning, regulation and investment.
Solution for the future, not for ‘tomorrow’
The Wärtsilä test, cited by Euronews, does not mean that hydrogen engines will immediately replace other forms of electrical production. It represents, rather, another step in the search for technologies capable of supporting networks where electricity increasingly depends on the sun and wind.
The International Energy Agency predicts global renewable capacity to increase by almost 4,600 GW between 2025 and 2030, with solar power accounting for close to 80% of that growth. The greater the weight of these variable sources, the greater the need for flexible solutions to guarantee stability in the network.
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