As part of bp and Iberdrola’s joint venture, construction work has started on Spain’s largest green hydrogen project with 25 MW.
The plant could create up to 500 jobs during its construction and approximately 25 Spanish companies will participate in the build out.
The first phase involves earthworks and preparation of a plot of land measuring approximately 20 000 m2 located next to the bp refinery in Castellón. Civil work will begin in 2Q25.
The next milestone of the project will be the installation of the first major equipment, including electrolysers, targeted for 3Q25/4Q25. This equipment allows green hydrogen to be produced through a chemical process (electrolysis), capable of separating the hydrogen and oxygen molecules that make up water using electricity from renewable sources.
Carolina Mesa, VP Hydrogen, Spain and New Markets at bp, stated: “The start of construction of the green hydrogen plant in Spain is great news because it allows us to see tangible progress in an industrial decarbonisation project. bp’s refinery in Castellón is a model for the transformation of refineries into integrated energy hubs.”
Jorge Palomar Herrero, Director of Hydrogen Development at Iberdrola, commented: “This project is enabling the development of a hydrogen value chain in the country with equipment being manufactured in Spain, providing work for more than 25 local companies. Additionally, the plant will be supplied with 200 GWh/year of renewable energy from Iberdrola’s wind and photovoltaic (PV) plants in Spain, meeting all EU requirements to ensure that the hydrogen produced is green hydrogen.”
This reinforces bp and Iberdrola’s position in Spain in the green hydrogen sector, an energy vector that has the potential to play meaningful role in decarbonising industry.
The project has an investment of more than €70 million and is being developed jointly by bp and Iberdrola Spain through Castellón Green Hydrogen S.L., a company owned equally by both companies. The plant is expected to be operational by 3Q26.
The 25 MW electrolyser will be powered by renewable electricity through a power purchase agreement signed with Iberdrola that will supply 200 GWh/year coming from Iberdrola’s PV and wind projects.
It is expected that around 2800 tpy of green hydrogen could substitute part of the grey hydrogen currently used by the refinery – currently produced from natural gas – and as such is expected to result in avoiding the emission of approximately 23 000 CO2 tpy, equivalent to the emissions of 5000 cars over the same period. This plant could create up to 500 new direct jobs during its construction.
In subsequent phases of the project, the green hydrogen produced could also be used in key hard-to-abate industries in the Valencia region, such as the ceramics sector replacing natural gas used in its processes, in chemical industries, and in heavy transport.
This initiative, which includes the participation of the Technology Institute of Energy, has been awarded funding of €15 million from the ‘innovative value chain’ and ‘renewable hydrogen knowledge’ call of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, with funding allocated by NextGenerationEU of the European Union.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global’s Winter 2024 issue
Don’t miss out on our last issue of the year! The Winter issue of Energy Global is out now; this issue kicks off with a guest comment from Veronica Maxted, Director of Renewables at RS Group before moving on to a regional report on the current state of the renewables industry in North America. This edition of the magazine also explores key topics such as inspection and maintenance, solar optimisation, energy storage technology, geothermal drilling and operations, and much more. With contributions from key industry leaders such as Viridien, Hexagon, DNV Energy Systems, and Halliburton, among others, dive into the issue and see what you could learn.
Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/other-renewables/10022025/bp-and-iberdrola-begin-construction-on-spains-largest-green-hydrogen-plant/
#Iberdrola #construction #Spains #largest #green #hydrogen #plant