eFUEL-TODAY: The project in Puertollano is still quite new. Can you give us an overview of the most important details of this facility?

Iberdrola has commissioned Europe’s largest green hydrogen plant for industrial use. The facility in Puertollano (Ciudad Real) is located on the premises of our partner Fertiberia and will contribute to the decarbonization of the fertilizer industry. The complex consists of a 100 MW photovoltaic plant, a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh, and one of the world’s largest hydrogen production plants using electrolysis (20 MW), all powered by 100% renewable sources.

The 100 MW photovoltaic plant in Puertollano (Image: © Iberdrola)

The electrolyzer is of the PEM type and consists of 16 “stacks” each with 1.25 MW, manufactured by the Norwegian company NEL ASA. The plant has a production capacity of 3,000 tons of green H2 per year. It has 11 storage tanks with a capacity of 7 tons each, ensuring several days’ supply for the customer. The hydrogen is stored at a pressure of 60 bar. With an investment of 150 million euros, the initiative has created 1,000 jobs during its construction phase and will avoid emissions of 48,000 tCO2 per year.

Iberdrola Hygroden Plant: One of the world’s largest hydrogen production plants with 20 MW using electrolysis powered by 100% renewable sources (Image: © Iberdrola)

eFUEL-TODAY: We are familiar with the approaches for a sustainable energy supply within Germany. What approach is Spain taking to establish its energy infrastructure in a renewable way and what is the target date to become fully climate neutral?

The “National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan 2021-2030 (PNIEC)” aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 23% compared to 1990. This reduction target means that one of every three tons of greenhouse gases currently emitted will be eliminated. These efforts are in line with the more ambitious goals at the European level by 2030 and with the Paris Agreement. Targets include:

• 42% renewable energy in final energy consumption
• 39.6% improvement in energy efficiency (EE)
• 39% reduction in GHG emissions compared to 2005 in diffuse sectors (-60% ETS sectors)
• 15% interconnection – improvement of interconnection with France (up to 8,000 MW) and with Portugal (up to 3,000 MW)
• Installation of 59 GW of renewable energy and 6 GW of storage capacity
• Increase the share of renewable energy in the generation mix to 74% by 2030 (~253 TWh)
• Multi-year auction calendar for new renewable energy projects
• Promotion of self-consumption, promotion of electric vehicles, obligation to sell/consume modern biofuels…

In parallel, a green H2 roadmap is being developed with the following targets:

• 4 GW of installed capacity of electrolyzers
• 25% of H2 consumption in industry
• 100-150 FCEV buses
• 100-150 publicly accessible hydrogen generators
• 5,000-7,500 light and heavy-duty FCEV commercial vehicles
• 2 commercial train lines powered by H2
• avoidance of 4,6 mt co2

eFUEL-TODAY: From the perspective of Iberdrola, what role will sustainably produced chemical energy carriers, such as hydrogen or e-fuels, play in the energy supply of Spain, the EU, or the world compared to the direct use of electric power?

Iberdrola, the world’s second-largest electricity company by market capitalization, promotes the electrification of the economy and reaches all sectors where the direct use of electricity is efficient and competitive. However, there are some so-called “hard-to-abate” sectors, such as the chemical and refinery industry, that use high temperatures in their production processes or require heavy mobility, which require other alternatives. In this sense, green hydrogen is one of the most efficient solutions to help the most polluting industrial sectors to transition their processes and become more sustainable. For Iberdrola, which has already developed several projects to decarbonize industry and heavy transport and to develop its value chain, this is a significant growth vector. We have a mature project portfolio of 2,400 MW by 2025 and expect to reach 3,000 MW and produce 350,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030.

As a reference, Spain has a national target of 4 GW by 2030, while Germany has a higher target of 10 GW. Originally, the EU wanted to achieve 40 GW, but after the release of the RePower EU plan, this goal was multiplied to reach 10 million tons of local production of green H2 and 10 million tons of imports.

eFUEL-TODAY: The advantages of hydrogen are clear, but significant conversions of both vehicles and fueling infrastructure would be necessary for the use of this energy carrier in road transport. What role do synthetic fuels or e-fuels play in Spain in this context, and is it planned that a portion of hydrogen production will also be processed into e-fuels for use in road transport?

Iberdrola is currently not involved in projects related to e-fuels. Within Spain, Iberdrola primarily supports the development of H2 corridors.

Operating Plant Puertollano: Details © Iberdrola

eFUEL-TODAY: The hydrogen project in Puertollano is already of considerable size. Are there any further projects of this kind planned by Iberdrola in the near future that could have a significant impact on sustainable energy supply in Spain?

The Puertollano project is part of an alliance with Fertiberia, which plans to develop a total of 830 MW of electrolyzers in four phases by 2027 to supply them with green hydrogen at two of their locations (Puertollano and Palos de la Frontera).

On the other hand, Iberdrola has announced an alliance with bp to develop green H2 projects in Spain and Portugal. The first project being developed by the two companies is the installation of a 25 MW electrolyzer at the bp refinery in Castellón with a COD of 2025 (COD = Commercial Operation Date).

Additionally, the company is working with Finsa-Foresa on a green methanol project in Galicia. The first part involves the installation of a 5 MW electrolyzer to produce nearly 3,000 tons of green methanol per year, using biogenic CO2 from a biomass boiler. The COD is also set for 2025.

More about the company and the hydrogen plant can be found at iberdrola.com

Image Sources: © iberdrola.com

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E-fuels are important today as they are produced using renewable energy and drastically reduce the harmful emissions associated with combustion engines. Additionally, e-fuels have a lower total cost of ownership than conventional fuels. E-fuels have several advantages, such as a short refueling process and high energy density, being produced from renewable or decarbonized electricity, being climate neutral in the entire balance and having an unlimited shelf life.

What are e-fuels?

E-fuels are drop-in replacement fuels produced using renewable electricity, water, and CO2 from the air. They are climate neutral in the entire balance and can be used to power vehicles, airplanes and ships. The process uses hydrogen to bind with the CO2 under high pressure using a catalyst.

Excursion: Hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbons are organic compounds composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms. They can be found in petroleum and natural gas and are introduced into the environment through their use as fuels and chemicals. The energy that’s within the hydrocarbon in our fuels is released through combustion. Combustion of hydrocarbons is a chemical reaction where a hydrocarbon reacts with oxygen to create carbon dioxide, water, and heat. Incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons produces the most oxidized form of carbon (carbon dioxide) as a product. Carbon monoxide, a by-product of hydrocarbon combustion, is a primary pollutant in the troposphere. In conclusion burning fossil fuels can have a range of negative side effects, including non-renewability, mercury emission, air pollution and climate change. Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels are the main contributor to climate change, leading to a changing climate and trapping heat in the atmosphere. That’s why we are obligated to turn our energy supply away from hydrocarbons of fossil origin towards renewable sources.

First ingredient: green hydrogen

Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, a process that splits hydrogen from water using an electric current. The electricity used for this process can be obtained from renewable sources such as on-site solar or wind, making it green. The process of producing green hydrogen results in energy conversion losses of around 30 percent which means that 70 percent of the energy expended is bound in hydrogen. (Source: BMBF 2022)

Green Hydrogen is one of the main ingredients for efuels. The electricity used for this process can be obtained from renewable sources such as on-site solar or wind

Second ingredient: carbon capture

Carbon capture is the process of collecting carbon dioxide (CO2) from a point source, such as a smokestack or gas well, and storing it in an underground facility. There are two main types of carbon capture: post-combustion and pre-combustion. Post-combustion processes use liquid to chemically remove CO2 before it is released into the atmosphere, while pre-combustion processes convert fuel into a gaseous mixture of mostly hydrogen and CO2, which is then separated. CO2 gained from this process is the second important ingredient needed to produce an e-fuel.

The production process of e-fuels

E-fuels are synthetic methanol produced by a complex process using water, hydrogen and carbon dioxide. They are differentiated from biofuels as they are produced from renewable or decarbonised electricity. The production process involves extracting hydrogen through electrolysis of water, then combining it with carbon dioxide to produce the fuel. One often executed process is the Fischer-Tropsch-Synthesis. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis is a condensation polymerization reaction of CO that produces hydrocarbons, olefins, paraffins and oxygenates. It occurs in the presence of metal catalysts at temperatures of 150–300 °C (302–572 °F) and pressures of one to several tens of atmospheres. E-fuels offer similar performance to petrol and diesel but have a lower environmental impact due to their production process.

E-fuels are synthetic methanol produced by a complex process using water, hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the production process is illustrated by the diagram.

When can an e-fuel be considered climate neutral

To be climate neutral, e-fuels must be produced from green electricity and have a closed CO2 cycle when viewed from a holistic “well-to-wheel” perspective. Well-to-wheel (WtW) is a measurement used to accurately evaluate and compare vehicle emissions. It calculates the total climate impact of a product or service from its production to its use.

That’s how far the industry is when it comes to the production of e-fuels

Industry mass production of e-fuels is still in its early stages. Porsche has invested over $100 million in the development and production of e-fuels, including $75 million in HIF Global LLC in April 2022 (Source: Porsche 2022)In Germany H&R Refining GmbH and Mabanaft GmbH & Co. KG have signed an agreement to establish the joint venture P2X Europe. The joint venture will purchase carbon-neutral products such as E-Fuels and petrochemical specialties such as waxes from corresponding projects and market them through the respective distribution channels of Mabanaft and H&R. Jonathan Perkins, CEO of Mabanaft, highlights the importance of this cooperation, commenting that it will allow them to bring CO2-neutral E-Fuels to their customers. The project is planned to start producing and marketing synthesis-based e-fuels and waxes from renewable raw materials at the H&R production site in Hamburg starting in September 2022 (Source: Mabanaft 2022)

What are the price predictions for one liter of e-fuel

E-fuels prices are expected to be between EUR 1.22 and EUR 2.17 in 2025, and between EUR 1.45 and EUR 2.50 in 2050. Prices for petrol with an eFuels admixture will cost between EUR 1.34 and EUR 1.36 in 2025. Alternative fuel fleets can obtain significantly lower fuel prices than those reported by entering into contracts directly with local fuel suppliers.

Sources:

BMBF (2022): https://www.bmbf.de/bmbf/shareddocs/kurzmeldungen/de/wissenswertes-zu-gruenem-wasserstoff.html

eFuel alliance (2022): https://www.efuel-alliance.eu/efuels/costs-outlook

Mabanaft (2022): https://www.mabanaft.com/en/news-info/current-news-and-press-releases/news-detail/p2x-europe-launches-synzerotm-a-new-premium-brand-for-synthesis-based-specialty-chemical-products-and-e-fuels/

Porsche (2022): https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2022/company/porsche-commitment-industrial-production-efuels-investment-hif-global-llc-27935.html

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