Repsol begins producing renewable hydrogen at Petronor
Published on: Oct 11, 2023
With an investment of €11 million, this renewable hydrogen has an industrial use in the refinery itself, reducing the carbon footprint of the products.
Repsol has begun producing renewable hydrogen at its Petronor industrial center in ¡ Spain. The 2.5 MW electrolyzer can generate 350 tons per year of renewable hydrogen for industrial use, mainly in the refinery, as a raw material for manufacturing products with a lower carbon footprint.
Renewable hydrogen is also used in the logistics platform of the Abanto Zierbana Technology Park to power buses and heavy transport. Repsol and the Basque Energy Agency have located the Basque Country’s first hydrogen refueling station there, which obtains hydrogen from the Petronor electrolyzer by means of a pipeline.
The start-up of this electrolyzer is a milestone in Repsol's path towards zero net emissions, in which the transformation of its industrial facilities plays a key role. Petronor will be the site for two more electrolyzers, with a capacity of 10 MW and 100 MW, in the coming years. The latter has been recognized by the European Commission as an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI).
Repsol will install electrolyzers as a decarbonization lever in the vicinity of its other four large industrial centers in Spain. The unit in Cartagena will have a capacity of 100 MW and has also been qualified as an IPCEI. The unit in Tarragona, at 150 MW, will be the largest in Spain and has been selected by the European Commission as an innovative project to receive funds under the Innovation Fund program. Repsol plans to install 30-MW electrolyzers near its industrial complexes in Puertollano and A Coruña.
The company is the leading producer and consumer of hydrogen in Spain. It currently produces around 360,000 tons of hydrogen per year in its industrial facilities, which represents almost 60% of the Spain’s demand.
