The equipment now on site includes the electrolyser system supplied by Plug Power. Approximately 25 Spanish companies are involved in the project.
The testing period to monitor the operation and performance of the equipment is scheduled to begin in May 2026.
This milestone reinforces bp and Iberdrola's leadership in the green hydrogen sector in Spain, an energy vector that has the potential to play a significant role in the decarbonization of industry.
“These advances are great news for the Spanish energy sector” said Carolina Mesa, bp's Vice President of Hydrogen for Europe and MENA. “They reflect tangible progress in a key industrial decarbonization project and consolidate bp's refinery in Castellón as a benchmark in the country.”
The project has an investment of more than 70 million euros and is being jointly developed by bp and Iberdrola España through Castellón Green Hydrogen SL, a company owned equally by both companies.
“This project is a real example of the electrification of industry, which allows us to reduce CO2 emissions and strengthen energy supply security” added Julio Castro, CEO of Iberdrola Sustainable Energy Spain, stated. “This plant will be powered by 200 GWh/year of renewable energy from our wind farms and photovoltaic plants in Spain.”
The 25 MW electrolyser will be powered by renewable electricity through a power purchase agreement (PPA) supplied by Iberdrola from photovoltaic and wind farms. The production of 2,800 tons of green hydrogen per year is expected to replace some of the gray hydrogen currently used by the refinery in its processes, and as such, it is anticipated to prevent the emission of approximately 23,000 tons of CO2 per year, equivalent to the emissions of 5,000 cars over the same period.
This initiative, which includes the participation of the Energy Technology Institute (ITE), has obtained funding of 15 million euros from the Innovative Value Chain and Knowledge in Renewable Hydrogen support programs of the Spanish Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, with funds that will be allocated by NextGenerationEU of the European Union.
bp and Iberdrola continue to explore opportunities to increase green hydrogen production at the Castellón refinery.
Image: Carolina Mesa and Francisco Quintana from bp and Julio Castro and Alvaro Cardiel from Iberdrola
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