The electrolyser would run on renewable energy produced by a 40MW photovoltaic plant

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bp, Iberdrola and Enagás will evaluate the installation of a 20MW electrolyser. (Credit: Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay.)

Iberdrola, bp and Enagas have entered into an agreement to study the feasibility of building first phase of the large-scale green hydrogen production facility at bp’s plant in Castellón, in Valencia region in Spain.

The agreement is aimed at evaluating the installation of a 20MW electrolyser for the production of green hydrogen on land owned by bp in the El Serrallo industrial estate.

With plans to increase capacity to 115MW, the electrolyser would run on renewable energy produced by a 40MW photovoltaic plant, among other sources, and start operating in 2023.

bp Spain chairman Carlos Barrasa said: “With this project, bp reinforces its commitment to hydrogen as a fuel of the future, as it will play a fundamental role in the decarbonisation of the energy, industry and transport, especially those that are difficult or expensive to electrify.

“This is therefore a further step in bp’s strategy to transform itself into an integrated energy company, as well as in bp Spain’s ambition to lead the country’s energy transition, so that it can become a European centre for the production and distribution of energy with a low carbon footprint.”

Under the collaboration, bp, Iberdrola and Enagás would advance their respective decarbonisation strategies for the industrial and transport sectors in the Valencia region.

The feasibility study will also assess additional uses for the green hydrogen produced at the plant, including the heavy transport sector and decarbonisation of other industries in the region.

bp’s Castellón refinery is a large producer and consumer of hydrogen, and the new project would replace the grey hydrogen used by the refinery in its biofuel production.

With the use of green hydrogen, the project would help reduce CO2 emissions by up to 24,000 tonnes per annum, and contribute to the decarbonisation of the plant.

In November last year, Iberdrola has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, a subsidiary of Nel, for electrolyser projects in Spain.