Spanish utility Iberdrola and UK-based energy company bp have completed construction of a 25 MW green hydrogen plant at bp’s Castellón refinery in Spain and have begun commissioning the facility ahead of commercial operations.
The project has been developed through their joint venture, Castellón Green Hydrogen. The companies expect the plant to begin producing green hydrogen before the end of this year and become Spain’s largest operational green hydrogen facility by 2026, pv magazine reported.
The plant is equipped with five 5 MW containerised proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser modules supplied by Plug Power, which formed a joint venture with Acciona in 2021.
The facility will produce green hydrogen through water electrolysis powered by renewable electricity. The hydrogen will meet the European Union’s Renewable Fuels of Non-Biological Origin (RFNBO) requirements and support bp’s plan to transform its Castellón refinery into an integrated energy hub.
The project is expected to produce around 2,800 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, replacing part of the grey hydrogen currently used at the refinery, which is produced from natural gas.
The initiative involves Valencia’s Energy Technology Institute (ITE) and represents an investment of more than €70 million.
The project has also secured €15 million in funding under Spain’s Innovative Value Chain and Renewable Hydrogen Knowledge programmes, which are part of the country’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan supported by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU initiative.
In addition, Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), has approved the reallocation of up to €211 million in funding under the IPCEI Hy2Use programme for the Castellón green hydrogen project.
