(Puertollano/Spain) – The Spanish energy company Iberdrola SA has inaugurated a plant for the production of green hydrogen with an output of 20 megawatts in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), two hours' drive south of Toledo. In the future, 3.000 tons of the energy source are to be produced there every year.
Solar power plant supplies green electricity for electrolysis
The electricity comes from a specially built photovoltaic power plant. Its installed capacity is 100 megawatts. The annual yield of the bilaterally active (bifacial) solar modules is forecast to be around 156.000 megawatt hours. 
The system also includes a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 megawatt hours. The company estimates the total investment for the project at 150 million euros. Around 80 local companies were involved in the construction, creating more than 1.000 jobs.
As a supplier for the PEM electrolyzer, Iberdrola commissioned the Norwegian manufacturer Nel ASA, whose US factory in Wallingford, Connecticut, said it produced the “largest electrolyzer in Europe”. Its waste heat is used for a heating network in the city of Puertollano.
Fertiberia reduces natural gas purchases by ten percent
The buyer of the hydrogen is an ammonia factory owned by Spain's largest fertilizer manufacturer Fertiberia, which is thus reducing its purchase of natural gas by ten percent. 
In November 2020, Iberdrola and fertiberia Plans have been published according to which companies want to invest more than 2027 billion euros in their country's green hydrogen industry by 1,8. It is said that a production capacity of 800 megawatts could be built as part of the alliance. In addition to Puertollano, the projects also include a factory in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva).
Further plans for green hydrogen
Iberdrola's project pipeline includes investments of nine billion euros by 2030. The aim is to produce 400.000 tons of the gas per year, the company said. According to its own information, the group has submitted more than 50 proposals for the production of renewable hydrogen to the EU's “Next Generation” program, with an investment volume of more than 2,4 billion euros.
The Iberdrola Group is also initiating a number of hydrogen projects elsewhere. A plant in Cromarty in the north of Scotland is scheduled to go into operation in 2024 with an initial capacity of 4.000 tons per year; expandable to 20.000 tons.
Another electrolyser will be built at the Whitelee wind farm on the outskirts of Glasgow. This plant, owned by Iberdrola subsidiary Scottish Power plc, which can produce 3.000 tons of green hydrogen per year, will begin operations in 2023. The proceeds would be used to operate 550 buses every day on the approximately 80 kilometer route between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
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Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galán (center) with employees in Puertollano. © Iberdrola
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In December 2021, the first five of a total of eleven hydrogen tanks were delivered to Puertollano. Each tank has a volume of 133 cubic meters and is 23 meters high with a diameter of 2,8 meters. The empty weight is 77 tons. © Iberdrola
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Iberdrola boss Ignacio Galán (3rd from right) at the inauguration of the 20 megawatt electrolyser in the presence of King Felipe VI (4th from left) and political celebrities. © Iberdrola
