The King of the Netherlands accompanied by Ignacio Galán visits Europe's leading green hydrogen production plant
Iberdrola has taken a definitive step in the establishment of the green hydrogen shipping corridor between Spain and the Netherlands. The Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, today received His Majesty the King of the Netherlands at the Puertollano plant on the occasion of the signing of several agreements between the company, ACE Terminal and Hynetwork Services.
Ignacio Galán, Chairman of Iberdrola, stated that "when we talk about green hydrogen, we are not talking about promises, we are talking about a reality and it demonstrates Iberdrola's commitment to new technologies and to our country, as we have been doing for years. We remain firmly committed to the Single Energy Market as the best way to promote the huge investments needed if we want a safe, clean and competitive energy industry".
The President also added that "the current facilities in Puertollano are in a first phase and in the future we will multiply the capacity of the plant by 10. In addition, a few days ago, we also signed a contract to sell ammonia that we will produce in Huelva more than 100,000 tonnes per year. We plan to invest more than 3,000 million euros in this sector, more than half of which will come to Spain".
Helmie Botter, manager of Hydrogen Business Development at Gasunie, said: "With this agreement we are strengthening the hydrogen corridor between Spain and the Netherlands. Through the import logistics hubs, such as the Port of Rotterdam, and the national hydrogen network of Gasunie's subsidiary Hynetwork Services to bring green hydrogen to European industrial users, the Netherlands is positioning itself to become the hydrogen gateway for North West Europe".
Project partners Walter Moone (Chairman of New Energies & LNG Vopak); Cees van Gent (CEO of HES International) and Ulco Vermeulen (Executive Board of Gasunie) attended the signing of the agreement and expressed their satisfaction that Iberdrola has chosen their terminal to receive, store and distribute green ammonia and to transport green hydrogen. Together with Iberdrola, ACE Terminal takes a significant step in establishing the hydrogen value chain between Spain and the Netherlands.
Thanks to the agreements signed today, plans to develop a maritime corridor between Spain and the Netherlands are one step closer. Iberdrola aims to transport green ammonia to ACE Terminal's import facility in the Port of Rotterdam, to handle and store, and convert the ammonia into green hydrogen, for final use in industry, or for direct use in shipping and other industries in Northwest Europe.
Transport and distribution will be carried out through the Dutch national hydrogen network of Gasunie's subsidiary Hynetwork Services in the European market to customers in the chemical, steel, refining and fertiliser industries. These entities are established in clusters such as Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Zeeland and Chemelot in the Netherlands and North West Europe.
With His Majesty King Willem-Alexander as an exceptional witness, the alliances established mark an important step forward in the materialisation of the agreement between Spain and the Netherlands. The objective is to establish as soon as possible the green hydrogen maritime corridor between the two countries that will guarantee the completion of the logistics chain to decarbonise the industry of Northern Europe. The maritime transport of competitive green hydrogen, which Iberdrola is already producing in Spain, is a key lever for this transformation to take place in the short term.
In addition to His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, the Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy, Robert Jetten, the Secretary of State for Energy, Sara Aagesen, Roel Nieuwenkamp, Dutch Ambassador to Spain, and Consuelo Fermenía Guardiola, Spanish Ambassador to the Netherlands, also attended the ceremony.
The Puertollano plant has received more than 180 visits from governments, businessmen and universities from all over the world. Among them, His Majesty the King of Spain during its inauguration, the Ministers of Energy of Australia, Chile and Slovenia, the Secretary of the Environment of Brazil, the embassies of Turkey and the Netherlands, and the government delegations of Japan, Morocco, Colombia and Finland, as well as Chambers of Commerce from different countries.
Last December, Iberdrola reached an agreement with the Port of Rotterdam to export green hydrogen and its derivatives to the Netherlands. This new step represents a step forward in its commitment to promote the decarbonisation of industrial consumers in Northern Europe.
INDUSTRIAL DECARBONISATION
The decarbonisation of the powerful industry in northern Europe is a challenge for the coming years, and Iberdrola wants to get involved in real projects by supplying green hydrogen to its customers. The company was the first to produce green hydrogen and will be the first to start exporting it.
Spain has great renewable potential that will allow it to decarbonise its local industry. It also has additional competitive renewable energy resources to supply its European partners and contribute to building a greener and more connected Europe, guaranteeing its energy security and independence.
Iberdrola, in its commitment to lead decarbonisation, is therefore working with key players in the Dutch energy ecosystem to jointly develop the logistics chain needed to make the green hydrogen corridor a reality.
LEADER IN RENEWABLE ENERGY
The Iberdrola group began its commitment to renewable energies more than two decades ago as a fundamental pillar on which to build its clean, reliable and intelligent business model. Thanks to this vision, the company is today a world leader in renewable energies, with 40,344 MW of renewable energy installed by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Committed to the energy transition towards a low-emission economy, the company is once again a leader in the green hydrogen revolution with three plants in operation in 2023. In total, 60 projects are under development in eight countries to meet the electrification and decarbonisation needs of sectors such as industry and heavy transport.
Iberdrola's Puertollano plant, located in Ciudad Real, consists of a 100 MW solar photovoltaic plant. It has a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh and the largest green hydrogen production system in Europe (20 MW). With an investment of 150 million euros, it will be able to produce up to 3,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, which would avoid the emission of 48,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.
ABOUT ACE TERMINAL
To facilitate the growing demand for hydrogen, three strategic partners: Gasunie and HES International have joined forces and expertise to develop a hydrogen import terminal in the Port of Rotterdam. The "open access" terminal will allow the receipt and storage of ammonia as a hydrogen carrier for customers in North West Europe. In addition, the terminal will provide conversion of ammonia to hydrogen, transhipment of ammonia and subsequent transit of hydrogen and ammonia to end-users.
The ACE Terminal will be built at the Maasvlakte in the Port of Rotterdam. The strategic location offers direct access from the North Sea and a connection to the Rotterdam industry and Gasunie's pipeline network to North West Europe. The terminal will utilise Gasunie's existing facilities, HES International's land and quay, and Vopak's ammonia storage expertise. The terminal is expected to be operational in 2026.
ABOUT HYNETWORK SERVICES
Hynetwork Services (a 100% subsidiary of N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie) is creating a national hydrogen network in the Netherlands that will link the demand and supply of CO2-free hydrogen. Five industrial clusters will be connected to each other, to other countries and to hydrogen storage and import sites. This will be done mainly using existing infrastructure and partly using newly built infrastructure. Hydrogen Network Netherlands is being built in phases. The aim is to have the network fully completed by 2030.