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Iberdrola is leading a project in Aragón to produce green hydrogen by building a hydrogenerator at the PLAZA Logistics Platform in Zaragoza, with 10 MW of electrolysers capable of producing and supplying green hydrogen to heavy road transport vehicles and moving towards ever-more sustainable mobility.

This facility, which will be open to the public, represents an investment of more than €36 million and will include building a photovoltaic power plant for self consumption which, as well as supplying renewable energy to Iberdrola, will allow the plant to use only zero-emissions electricity.

The aim of this project is to generate and supply green hydrogen to heavy road transport vehicle fleets, buses, light private and industrial vehicles, and the railway sector (with an option to serve the Zaragoza-Canfranc link and its future Pau- France connection) and projected airport use. It also includes renewable hydrogen storage and dispensing stations in nearby areas with potential for consumption in Zaragoza and Valle del Aragón.

Iberdrola is leading the initiative - which it has submitted to the EU's Next Generation programme - that will be carried out in association with Aragon’s institutions and companies that have shown interest in the project. These include the regional government, Zaragoza and Jaca City Councils, the Aragón Hydrogen Foundation, the University of Zaragoza, the Aragón Automobile Cluster, the Zaragoza Area Transport Consortium and companies Zoilo Ríos, Carreras Grupo Logístico, Calvera, Inycom (Instrumentación y Componentes), Arpa and CAF, as well as PLAZA, the site on which the facility will be built.

The initiative will be a massive driving force for the region, creating 1,800 direct and indirect jobs during the construction and operational phases, as well as contracts for services, materials and equipment awarded to local companies in Aragón, such as Ingeniería y Control Electrónico, Montajes Eléctricos García, Sfice Innovative Minds, Aralink Tecnologías de la Información and Efinetika. It will also improve competitiveness in these companies and boost sustainability, attract investment and encourage training and research into this type of renewable technology in universities and training centres in the region, which is one of the pioneers in the study of green hydrogen.

Iberdrola is already developing several green hydrogen projects that will enable the decarbonisation of industry and transport or heavy mobility in Spain and the UK and it is also developing the value chain. The company has also submitted 53 projects to the EU's Next Generation programme, which would trigger investments of €2.5 billion to reach an annual production of 60,000 tonnes/year.

In Aragón, Iberdrola manages around 500 MW in renewable projects, a figure it expects to double in the coming years, with almost 500 MW of green projects in the pipeline. These are the Peñaflor, Fuendetodos and Escatrón photovoltaic projects and a wind farm under development in Pancrudo, Teruel. All these projects have connection access and environmental analyses. What is more, the company expects to promote the development of wind and photovoltaic projects totalling 700 MW of installed capacity in different parts of the region.

Green innovation to transform the industrial sector

Iberdrola is certain that the energy transition can be a driving force in the transformation of the industrial sector and for a green recovery in the economy and the job market. To achieve this, it has launched an unprecedented investment plan worth €75bn for the 2020-2025 period; of which €14.3bn will be spent in Spain.

In addition, the company has presented 150 initiatives to the EU's Next Generation programme - in the fields of heat electrification, floating offshore, sustainable mobility, green hydrogen, innovative renewable initiatives, smart grids, circular economy and energy storage - which would mobilise investments of €21bn and involve more than 350 small and medium-sized companies.

These projects will create 45,000 jobs per year, stimulating economic growth by more than 1.5 % of GDP, improving competitiveness and the balance of payments with between 500 million and €1bn per year and helping to meet the demographic challenge by including more than €7bn euros for rural areas.

These projects will have a positive impact on the competitiveness of the Spanish industrial fabric and will allow for a green recovery in the short term and, in the medium and long term, the transformation of the country, gearing it towards the sectors of the future. The developments will contribute to the green and digital transition binomial established by the European Union and are aligned with the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.