Repsol will invest €400M in Tarragona to make green hydrogen

BarcelonaRepsol has approved an investment of 400 million euros for the development of an electrolyzer with the capacity to produce more than 22,000 tons of renewable hydrogen annually at its industrial complex in Tarragona, as announced this Thursday by the company presided over by Antoni Brufau.

The project, which Repsol will carry out together with Enagás Renovable, a company majority-owned by Hy24, will generate around 1,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, mainly local, during its various phases, the energy multinational assures.

The 150 MW electrolyzer will supply green hydrogen to the Ecoplanta that Repsol is building in El Morell (Tarragonès), the first circular methanol plant in Spain, which will come into operation in 2029, and also to other units in Tarragona.

According to Repsol, the electrolyzer and the Ecoplanta constitute two “strategic and complementary” projects for the future of the Tarragona industrial complex: “The Ecoplanta will transform non-recyclable urban waste into renewable methanol and circular products, while the electrolyzer will supply renewable hydrogen to boost new production lines for fuels and lower carbon footprint products.”

The electrolyzer will have the capacity to produce more than 22,000 tons of renewable hydrogen annually, which will be used mainly as raw material to manufacture renewable methanol and other low carbon footprint products. The production of this renewable hydrogen will allow for the avoidance of up to 250,000 tons of CO₂ per year, according to Repsol's estimates.

The director of the Repsol industrial complex in Tarragona, Javier Sancho, has highlighted that “the new electrolyzer and the Ecoplanta represent a transformative industrial commitment for Tarragona.” “They are two strategic and complementary projects, integrated into the industrial complex, which incorporate cutting-edge technology and new production capacities, and which are destined to mark its future, boosting the production of renewable fuels and low carbon footprint products,” he said. “We are immersed in a new stage, marked by decarbonization, circularity, and digitalization, which will allow us to continue generating employment, wealth, and social and economic value for the territory,” added Sancho.

More than €100 million in Next Generation funds

For his part, the director of business development and hydrogen operations at Enagás Renovable, Luis Iglesias, has stated that this alliance with Repsol is “a commitment to bringing renewable hydrogen where industrial demand already exists. It is a project with scale, which joins the network of industrial hubs that are positioning Spain as a benchmark in green molecules in Southern Europe”.

The new electrolyzer project has been selected to receive funding of up to 104 million euros under the state Hydrogen Valleys program, promoted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed with Next Generation EU funds.