- The project, which will last 60 months, is expected to create 2,000 direct and indirect jobs over 10 years.
- The hydrogen produced will enable the manufacture of products such as methanol and green ammonia, will be integrated into industrial processes and will power zero-emission mobility systems.
- It will have a production capacity of more than 16,800 tonnes of green hydrogen per year and will reduce up to 152,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.
The Andrés Hernando, CEO of Hiperbaric, during the presentation of the Hydrogen Valley of Castilla y León. of Castilla y León kicks off on 1 April with the backing of Europe and an estimated total investment of 380 million euros. The project aims to turn the region into Spain’s main integrated green hydrogen ecosystem and cover its entire value chain, from production to compression, distribution and storage.
The project, which will run for 60 months, has just received an investment of 20 million euros from the European Union through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership’s Large-Scale Hydrogen Valleys call and is expected to create 2,000 direct and indirect jobs over 10 years.
The Castilla Hydrogen Valley, led by CARTIF and the Castilla y León Hydrogen Association, and in collaboration with the University of Burgos, is made up of a consortium of 35 partners from nine countries, 22 of which are Spanish. Among them are technological and industrial companies, technology centres, universities, public administrations and energy and logistics operators with proven experience and capacity. “Europe’s financial backing is a further boost to develop an ambitious project focused on a region with a great capacity to produce renewable hydrogen”, explains Rafael Barbero, president of the Castilla y León Hydrogen Association and director general of the Caja de Burgos Foundation.
The project focuses on the city of Burgos, concentrating most of the actions in the Villalonquejar Industrial Park. Its development is structured in three major phases: in 2025 the detailed design of the pilots and infrastructures will be addressed; between 2026 and 2027 the installation and start-up of the demonstrators will be carried out; and between 2028 and 2029 the system will be in full operation, in real conditions. During this last stage, scaling and replication activities will be promoted to foster the growth of the valley.
CO2 emissions reduction
The Valley will have a production capacity of more than 16,800 tonnes per year of green hydrogen, generated by electrolysis powered by renewable sources. The hydrogen produced will enable the manufacture of products such as methanol and green ammonia, will be integrated into industrial processes and will power zero-emission mobility systems such as buses and logistics vehicles.
The valley will also have a hydroline station that will operate at 350 and 700 bar pressure, connected by a hydroproduct and intermodal transport. “At CARTIF, we are convinced that this project will be a turning point for the energy transition in Castilla y León, with a direct impact on the territory, industry and the generation of quality employment in key sectors“, explains Sergio Sanz, deputy director of CARTIF and director of the R&D Programmes department.
The project is expected to reduce up to 152,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year by substituting fossil fuels in key sectors, and to turn Castilla y León into a relevant energy hub at European level due, among other reasons, to its large installed wind generation capacity of 7,200 MW, one of the largest in Europe.
“Castilla y León has a strong and diversified industrial network, with companies prepared to innovate, collaborate and transform the economy towards sustainable models. We are also favoured by a strategic logistical position. The region has exceptional conditions to produce, consume and eventually export green hydrogen and derivatives such as methanol or ammonia to other territories“, says Andrés Hernando, vice-president of the Castilla y León Hydrogen Association and CEO of Hiperbaric, one of the leading companies in this consortium, which will contribute all its knowledge on hydrogen compression technology at very high pressure.
Open day for the public on the project
On the occasion of the official launch of the project, the Fórum Evolución in Burgos will host a conference open to the public on 8 April that will bring together the consortium partners, who will address the technical aspects of the project through various presentations and round tables. This event will also be attended by representatives of leading Spanish companies committed to green hydrogen as an energy vector.
The institutional opening of the conference will be led by the Mayoress of Burgos City Council, Cristina Ayala, who will be accompanied by José Miguel García, Rector of the University of Burgos; José Ramón Perán, Director General of CARTIF and Valérie Bouillon-Delporte, Director of the Clean Hydrogen Partnership.
Rafael Barbero,President of H2CYL and Sergio Sanz, Deputy Director General of CARTIF will be in charge of presenting the Green Hydrogen Valley project. This will be followed by a round table discussion entitled ‘Hydrogen Valley, the actors of change’ with the participation of María Jaén, European Hydrogen Research Leader of EPRI; Andrés Hernando, general manager of Hiperbaric; Alfonso Arroyo, general manager of Ente Regional de la Energía and Raúl Rodríguez, commercial director of TRESCA.
José Luis Casarrubios, hydrogen infrastructure project manager at ENAGÁS will give a talk entitled ‘Towards a hydrogen infrastructure in Spain’, prior to the second round table of the day, ‘Success stories, a mirror to inspire’, with the participation of Javier Quiñones, Executive Director of R&D&I at CIUDEN; Xavier Ribas, Director of Innovation at EVARM; Franz Bechtold, Spain Sales Director at Lhyfe and Alasdair Leapman, European Sales Director at Plug Power.
The day will end with a visit to the Hiperbaric company in Burgos to learn about the design and operation of Hiperbaric’s high-pressure compressor technology, Aciturri’s high-pressure storage tanks and fire safety equipment in H2 installations of the Komtes Group.
Registration for the day can be done through the following link:
https://showlanding.com/page/a73a8270-0688-11f0-96e0-005056bd5094/#Registro
