Iberdrola and Fertiberia have signed an agreement, which will trigger an investment of 150 million euros, to construct the largest plant to produce green hydrogen for industrial use in Europe. The Spanish companies are to build the plant in Puertollano and it will be operational in 2021.

 

Iberdrola will be responsible for the production of green hydrogen from 100% renewable sources. The solution will consist of a 100-MW photovoltaic solar plant, a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh and one of the largest electrolytic hydrogen production systems in the world (20 MW).

 

The green hydrogen produced will be used at Fertiberia’s ammonia plant in Puertollano. This plant is already one of the most efficient in the European Union, with a production capacity of more than 200,000 metric tons per year (m.t./yr). Fertiberia will update and modify the plant to be able to use the green hydrogen produced to manufacture green fertilizers.

 

Fertiberia will be able to reduce natural gas requirements at the plant by over 10 % and will be the first European company in the sector to develop expertise in large-scale green ammonia generation.

 

The project will take place in the municipality of Puertollano, in Ciudad Real, a prime location with a large industrial hub near to the National Hydrogen Centre, which has advised from the very beginning of the project.

 

“Today we are launching the first major green hydrogen project in Europe, demonstrating that thanks to renewables and technological innovation, it is possible to continue to meet the needs of the electrification and decarbonisation of our industry. The initiative shows the path and opportunities offered by the energy transition to develop innovative projects as the focus for industrialisation and employment in our country”, explains Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán.

 

“The partnership with Iberdrola allows Fertiberia to take a further step in its ambition to become a european reference for sustainable solutions for agriculture and to lead the paradigm shift required for the energy transition in the chemical sector, thanks to the manufacture of green ammonia from domestic renewable energy sources”, indicates Javier Goñi, the president of Fertiberia.

 

The project will help move forward in maturing the technology for green hydrogen production and turn it into a solution for efficient decarbonization in the medium term, both for the industry that uses it as a raw material and for processes that are difficult to decarbonize.

 

Fertiberia continues with this project with its purpose of providing innovative and viable solutions for the ecological transition, with the goal of Spain achieving emission neutrality and energy independence.

 

This transition requires the development and incorporation of state-of-the-art technology to efficiently adapt and integrate this new hydrogen stream, as well as advanced process control.

 

By producing ammonia from renewable sources, the company will avoid the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere while reducing dependence on a fossil fuel that must be imported from third countries. Ammonia is, in turn, the raw material for the manufacture of a wide range of products including latest-generation sustainable fertilizers.

 

The oxygen obtained as a co-product of the electrolysis of water will be used entirely in Fertiberia’s nitric acid unit, which also reduces its emissions.