Iberdrola’s green hydrogen plant secures financial backing
The EIB, ICO and Iberdrola have announced an agreement to develop a 100MW PV plant, a 20MWh battery and a 20MW green hydrogen production plant.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide €53 million ($57.9 million) and the Official Credit Institute (ICO) will provide €35 million ($38.2 million).
The agreement was announced by the finance institutions and electric utility company Iberdrola. It aims to support decarbonisation through the production of green hydrogen for industrial use, contributing to the EU’s energy supply security.
This is the first joint green financing by the EIB and ICO for the development of green hydrogen.
EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix commented on the investment in a statement, “As the EU’s climate bank, the EIB continues to support the building of sustainable infrastructure in Europe to foster the transition to zero net emissions.
“At this time, especially given the high energy and gas prices in Europe, we at the EIB strongly believe that hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in boosting Europe’s energy supply security”.
Both loans have been certified as green finance for the development of a 100MW PV plant, a 20MWh battery and a 20MW green hydrogen production plant. Each will be located in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), Castilla-La Mancha, one of the largest plants in Europe.
Green generation and job creation
The project will generate renewable electricity and green hydrogen.
These technologies will contribute to the sustainable recovery of the economy and job creation in Castilla-La Mancha.
The president of ICO, José Carlos García de Quevedo, stressed that this new operation “is part of the actions carried out by ICO in the deployment of its Sustainability Policy, promoting public-private partnership projects that generate positive impact from both a social and environmental point of view.
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“The green hydrogen plant built in Puertollano undoubtedly meets these two objectives, as it will contribute to generating employment in the region and boosting the ecological transition, one of the strategic objectives of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan”.
It is estimated that around 300 jobs will be created during the implementation phase and that the new PV plant will contribute to generating around 160GWh of electricity per year. This would be equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 48,000 Spanish households.
The electrolyser will be able to produce 1,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
Green hydrogen can be consumed by the fertiliser industry located near the plant, replacing the grey hydrogen produced from natural gas.
Iberdrola’s Chairman, Ignacio Galán, explained during the signing ceremony that “with this new agreement, we continue to make progress in green hydrogen, which is essential in sectors that are difficult to electrify.
“Thanks to the fact that this energy vector creates industry and jobs in our country, it has been identified as one of the recipients of the Next Generation EU, which is essential to accelerate its technological development and turn it into a mass energy solution”.
