- Elecnor will carry out the electrical assembly of the Puertollano plant and supply electrical materials and Consonni will manufacture medium voltage equipment
- The same year, after an investment of €150 million, the Puertollano project will produce hydrogen for the Fertiberia plant by means of electrolisis (20 MW), powered by a 100 MW photovoltaic plant
Iberdola has brought Basque companies Elecnor and Consonni on board what is now Europe’s largest green hydrogen project, to help decarbonise the industrial fertiliser manufacturing process at the plant in Fertiberia, in Puertollano, Ciudad Real. These advances will also bring it close to achieving one of its objectives: Development of a value chain around green hydrogen to position our country as a European technological and industrial benchmark in a key energy vector for electrifying industry and heavy transport.
Elecnor will be responsible for the electrical assembly of the Puertollano plant and will supply equipment such as electrical panels and cabinets, support, conduits and luminaries. Construcciones Electromecánicas Consonni will manufacture medium-voltage equipment at its Bilbao plant. The latter company is working with Iberdrola on another green hydrogen project to supply a containerised low-voltage electrical substation for the first-ever public hydrogen generation plan, which will supply green hydrogen to buses run by Transportes Municipales de Barcelona (TMB), in the Zona Franca de Barcelona.
The green hydrogen plant in Puertollano will become operational the same year, after an investment of €150 million: It is set to become largest industrial green hydrogen complex in Europe to date, producing hydrogen using 20 MW electrolysis systems, which also include a 100 MW photovoltaic facility and an ion-lithium battery system (20 MWh).
During the tender process, Iberdrola was impressed by Elecnor’s capacity to engineer, manufacture, supply and install electrical equipment and by Consonni’s ability to produce medium and low-voltage equipment, and the specialist knowledge of both companies’ human resources to enable them to execute these projects. These contracts were awarded as part of Iberdrola’s strategy to enter into agreements with companies involved in promoting environmental, social and governance values (ESG).
Development of innovative industrial chains with high added value
Green hydrogen has massive potential as an energy vector for electrifying industrial processes and heavy transport in particular. It has also been identified as a key solution for decarbonising the economy and developing innovative, high added value industrial chains in Spain and the European Union.
Iberdrola has committed to Europe’s most ambitious green hydrogen project, in collaboration with Fertiberia, to develop 800 MW of green hydrogen in four phases, at the plants in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), by 2027.
The initiative represents an investment of 1.8 billion euros and will make our country an industrial leader in the green hydrogen sector and the first to have 100% ammonia production for totally green fertilisers.
Opportunities for suppliers and employment
Iberdrola has presented 53 projects related to green hydrogen to the Next General EU programme, which will activate investments of 2.5 billion euros to achieve an annual production of 60,000 tons. The plant will produce the equivalent of 20 % of all national green hydrogen (installed capacity of 4 GW in 2030) and will guarantee that around 25 % of the green hydrogen currently consumed in Spain is CO2emissions free..
The company expects that this and other hydrogen projects carried out by Iberdrola will encourage economic growth and employment, helping to create approximately 4,000 qualified jobs – 500 of them in local suppliers.
