The clean energy race hit a bump in the road recently. Repsol, a major energy company, decided to halt plans for a big green hydrogen plant in Puertollano, Spain. The reason is simple: company studies showed the project just wasn’t practical or affordable right now.
This particular plant was meant to sit at the site of the old La Sevillana thermal power station in Puertollano, which is in the Ciudad Real area. Repsol had big ideas for it. They planned to make around 30,911 tons of green hydrogen each year. They also aimed for 272,953 tons of oxygen annually. This would happen through electrolysis, a process using electricity from renewable sources.
The green hydrogen was supposed to travel through a special pipeline. It would go straight to Repsol’s refinery in Puertollano. This refinery is a key part of Repsol’s industrial network. But after looking closely at the engineering and the money side of things, Repsol found it couldn’t move forward. The project proved too tough to build and too costly to run as planned.
This decision puts a pause on what the Spanish press called one of the most exciting green hydrogen plans for Castille-La Mancha. Repsol sources said that Puertollano is still a very important location for the company. They will keep working on other innovative ways to cut down carbon emissions there.
Repsol has several other projects moving forward. These include a biodiesel plant and work on advanced plastics. They are also looking at chemical recycling and building new solar power setups. While this specific hydrogen plant is off the table, Repsol states it’s still committed to green hydrogen. They just plan to approach it in a more adaptable way.
Another Green Hydrogen Story in the Same Town
It’s interesting to note that Puertollano is also home to a very successful green hydrogen plant. Iberdrola, another big energy company, opened its plant there in 2022. It’s the largest plant in Europe designed for industrial use. Iberdrola put 150 million euros into this project.
The Iberdrola plant is quite advanced. It has a 100-megawatt solar power system and 20-megawatt-hour batteries. It also uses a 20-megawatt PEM electrolyzer. This setup helps produce 3,000 tons of green hydrogen every year. Iberdrola says this avoids between 48,000 and 78,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
This hydrogen goes directly to Fertiberia, a company that uses it to make green ammonia. By doing this, Fertiberia cuts its natural gas use by up to 10%. Iberdrola also makes good use of the byproducts from their plant. They plan to send leftover heat to the local hospital and use the oxygen produced for other industrial purposes.
Both Repsol and Iberdrola had similar goals. Repsol wanted to send its hydrogen by pipeline to its refinery. Iberdrola sends its hydrogen to Fertiberia. This comparison shows that while green hydrogen is a promising path, the details of making it work can be tricky. What’s feasible for one company might not be for another, even in the same location.