Inauguration of the first renewable hydrogen plant in Mallorca

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Picture: The authorities at the inauguration © ENAGAS

The Third Vice President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has inaugurated in Lloseta (Mallorca) the first industrial renewable hydrogen plant in Spain, as part of the Green Hysland and Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca projects.

The opening ceremony was attended by the President of the Balearic Government and CPMR Islands Commission, Francina Armengol, the Vice President of the Balearic Government, Juan Pedro Yllanes, the Chairman of ACCIONA, Jose Manuel Entrecanales, the CEO of Enagás, Arturo Gonzalo, and the Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, Bart Biebuyck.

Start-up of the Lloseta Plant

Last December, the plant began start-up tests, generating the first renewable hydrogen molecules and thus positioning itself as the first industrial-scale green hydrogen generation project in Spain. 

The industrial production of renewable hydrogen at the plant will be carried out gradually and as the infrastructures and equipment for its consumption are available within Green Hysland. 

The Green Hysland project, coordinated by Enagás, supports the deployment of the infrastructures required to build a renewable hydrogen ecosystem on the island of Mallorca, and helps to achieve the environmental goals set by the Balearic Government in the islands. The European Union has committed 10 million euros to its implementation through the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. 

This European investment, which is in line with the new EU Hydrogen Strategy and the Spanish Government’s “Hydrogen Roadmap: a commitment to renewable hydrogen”, represents the second largest grant awarded by this organisation to a green hydrogen project and the first to a Mediterranean country.

In the words of the Vice President of the Spanish Government and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, “this pioneering project inaugurates a technological development that will be very relevant in the coming years, to replace gas of fossil origin with renewable gases, such as biogas, biomethane, and hydrogen obtained with renewable energies. Thanks to these advances, (…) we will offer a solution for the decarbonisation of sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as industry or heavy transport, and we will create new companies and new jobs in quality. Now, more than ever, we must activate all the springs to gain energy sovereignty, and renewable energies are going to play a decisive role.”. 

The President of the Balearic Government, Francina Armengol, has emphasized that “with this project, the Balearic Islands continue to be at the forefront of the energy transition in Spain and continue to set the pace just as they did with pioneering regulations such as the waste law, which abolished single-use plastics, or the exchange law climate”. In addition, the president has defended the Power to Green Hydrogen project as an example “of the transformation of the economic and social model that the islands are promoting, a more diverse, more resilient and more sustainable model”.

According to Arturo Gonzalo, CEO of Enagás, “in the current global context, a project like Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca makes more sense than ever as an example of public-private collaboration to contribute to decarbonisation and a just transition, and also to reduce energy dependency. The production in Mallorca of the first renewable hydrogen molecules marks a milestone in Spain and in Europe as a pioneer project of the Green Hysland initiative”.

Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director of the Clean Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, added: “the project Green Hysland on the island of Mallorca is a perfect example of how hydrogen and fuel cell technology can effectively contribute to the decarbonisation of European islands. With our support of 10 million Euro, we are proud to see the first Hydrogen ecosystem in Southern Europe becoming a reality and are convinced that it will serve as a blueprint for similar Hydrogen valleys across Europe”.

ACCIONA’s Chairman and CEO, Jose Manuel Entrecanales, pointed out that “green hydrogen is an industrial and economic opportunity for Spain and Europe. The public-private partnership in this project and the support of the different administrations is a reference model of how to take advantage of this opportunity. The Mallorca project will allow the maturing of a technology and an economic model based on renewable hydrogen to make a qualitative leap in decarbonisation.”

Electrolyser now operational

As a core part of the project, the electrolyser that produces renewable hydrogen has already completed technical commissioning tests. Once fully operational when the infrastructure deployment for its consumption is completed, it will produce at least 300 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year. 

The renewable electricity needed to power the electrolyser will be guaranteed by the photovoltaic plants of Lloseta (8.5 MW) and Petra (5.85 MW). The GreenH2Chain platform, developed by ACCIONA Energy, will use blockchain technology to prove that the hydrogen obtained at the plant is 100% renewable.

Use of green hydrogen in Mallorca

Once the green hydrogen ecosystem in Mallorca is fully implemented, the goal is to reduce the island’s CO2 emissions by up to 21,000 tonnes per year. Part of the green hydrogen will be transported through the first hydroduct in Spain, which Redexis will build on the island, and can be injected into the natural gas distribution network the company has in Palma de Mallorca, thus contributing to decarbonisation of island consumption. The administrative processing phase is currently being completed and the company will be able to start construction in the second quarter of the year.

Green hydrogen will have multiple applications on the island of Mallorca, such as supplying clean fuel to bus fleets, generating heat and electric power for commercial and public buildings, and creating a refuelling station.

The business sector is also joining the deployment of this clean energy ecosystem with agreements such as the one reached with the Iberostar hotel group to replace part of its natural gas consumption with renewable hydrogen.

Other industrial economic sectors, mobility, public and private entities will foreseeably join the use of this renewable energy, strengthening the renewable energy project of Mallorca, as well as the reindustrialisation of Lloseta and its surroundings with projects compatible with existing activities.

Mallorca is in an ideal position to develop the first renewable hydrogen hub in Southern Europe, thus becoming the first European example of an island economy based on green hydrogen. 

Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca

Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca is the core industrial part of the Green Hysland initiative, spearheaded by Enagás and ACCIONA Energía, with the participation of IDAE and CEMEX. 

Source: ENAGAS