Iberdrola starts first Spanish hydrogen plant at Puertollano

Spain's Iberdrola started up its first green hydrogen plant in Spain May 13, a 20-MW proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, which will be used to produce green ammonia for Fertiberia's 200,000 mt/year Puertollano facility, the company said.

The plant is the largest facility of its kind for industrial use in Europe, Iberdrola said.

The unit can produce 3,000 mt of green hydrogen per year, with an emission saving of 78,000 mt/year of CO2. Hydrogen at the site was previously produced via steam methane reforming.

The electrolyzer is fed by a 100-MW solar PV system, which uses bifacial panels to produce 156 GWh/year and a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh.

Norwegian electrolyzer manufacturer Nel supplied the PEM unit from its US factory.

The startup of the plant is the first phase of a plan to supply Fertiberia with 40,000 mt/year of green hydrogen by 2027, with an investment of Eur1.8 billion ($1.87 billion).

Besides refining, ammonia production is seen as one of the leading applications where green hydrogen can be employed competitively. The agreement between the companies expects a potential upscaling of the Puertollano plant and a second, larger plant in Huelva.

S&P Global Commodity Insights assessed the cost of producing renewable hydrogen via PEM electrolysis in Europe at Eur12.94/kg ($13.49/kg) May 13 (the Netherlands, including capex), based on month-ahead power prices. That compares with hydrogen produced from fossil fuels at Eur5.64/kg, including carbon and capex.