Spanish energy company Repsol has approved an investment of approximately €400 million to develop a 150 MW renewable hydrogen electrolyser at its industrial complex in Tarragona, Spain. The project, being developed in partnership with Enagás Renovable, is expected to produce more than 22,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually for industrial applications, including renewable methanol production.
Approved by Repsol’s Board of Directors, the facility will become the company’s third large-scale renewable hydrogen electrolyser in Spain and its largest to date. Enagás Renovable will hold a 25% stake in the project, while Repsol will use the hydrogen primarily at its Tarragona refinery and the planned Ecoplanta facility to manufacture renewable methanol and other products with a lower carbon footprint.
The project represents an investment of approximately €400 million and has been selected to receive up to €104 million in financial support under Spain’s Hydrogen Valleys programme. The funding is being provided within the country’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed through the European Union’s NextGenerationEU programme.
150 MW Electrolyser to Supply Renewable Hydrogen to Tarragona Industrial Complex
The proposed electrolyser will have an annual production capacity exceeding 22,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen. The output will primarily support Repsol’s industrial operations in Tarragona, particularly the production of renewable methanol at Ecoplanta and other lower-carbon products at the refinery.
The project will also incorporate reclaimed industrial water as its water source, according to Repsol. The company said the facility is designed to maximise energy efficiency and will be integrated into the Catalonia Hydrogen Valley and Ebro Hydrogen Corridor.
In addition to supplying hydrogen to its own industrial facilities, Repsol is considering the possibility of connecting future production to the natural gas network and Spain’s planned hydrogen backbone infrastructure.
Repsol estimates that the renewable hydrogen produced by the electrolyser could avoid up to 250,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. This is a projected emissions benefit rather than an independently established operating result.
Repsol Project Selected for Up to €104 Million in Government Support
The Tarragona electrolyser has been selected for potential funding of up to €104 million under Spain’s Hydrogen Valleys programme.
The programme, promoted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, supports strategic renewable hydrogen developments under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
The European Union finances the plan through its NextGenerationEU recovery instrument.
The proposed support recognises the project’s integration of renewable hydrogen production with existing industrial demand and the manufacture of renewable fuels.
Repsol also expects the development to generate approximately 1,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, primarily in the local area, across the different phases of the project.
Renewable Hydrogen to Support Ecoplanta and Renewable Methanol Production
An important part of the project’s industrial application will be supplying renewable hydrogen to Repsol’s Ecoplanta project in Tarragona.
Ecoplanta is being developed to convert non-recyclable municipal waste into renewable methanol, creating a link between waste treatment, renewable hydrogen and low-carbon fuel and chemical production.
The electrolyser will provide renewable hydrogen for the facility alongside other industrial applications at the Tarragona complex.
This integration is significant because renewable hydrogen can serve as an industrial feedstock for renewable fuel production, helping replace hydrogen derived from fossil-based processes in suitable applications.
Repsol’s Renewable Hydrogen Director Maribel Rodríguez said the electrolyser and Ecoplanta would form an integrated industrial platform supporting the production of renewable fuels and lower-carbon products.
Enagás Renovable’s Director of Business Development and Hydrogen Operations, Luis Iglesias, said the project would expand the companies’ partnership and bring renewable hydrogen production closer to established industrial demand.
Repsol’s Spanish Renewable Hydrogen Portfolio Reaches 350 MW
The Tarragona development will expand Repsol’s portfolio of large-scale renewable hydrogen projects in Spain.
The company has also announced electrolyser projects at Cartagena and Petronor, near Bilbao. With the additional 150 MW in Tarragona, the combined planned capacity of the three large-scale developments will reach 350 MW.
Repsol’s wider renewable hydrogen activities include a 2.5 MW electrolyser at Petronor, which has been producing renewable hydrogen since 2023, and a 10 MW facility under construction at the Port of Bilbao.
The company is also completing a 4 MW electrolyser in Sines, Portugal, intended to supply hydrogen to its polymer materials operations.
At the Port of Bilbao, renewable hydrogen from the 10 MW facility is intended to supply a synthetic fuels demonstration plant developed by Repsol and Aramco.
The Tarragona project therefore forms part of a broader industrial strategy focused on integrating renewable hydrogen into refining, chemicals and renewable fuel production.
Bioenergy Business Analysis
Repsol’s €400 million Tarragona investment highlights the growing importance of industrial hydrogen demand in the development of Europe’s renewable hydrogen market.
Rather than developing an electrolyser as a standalone hydrogen production facility, Repsol is linking the proposed 150 MW installation directly to its existing industrial complex and future renewable methanol production. This provides an identified industrial application for the hydrogen, particularly through the planned Ecoplanta facility.
For the renewable fuels industry, the development demonstrates how renewable hydrogen can support the production of renewable methanol and other lower-carbon industrial products. Its eventual contribution will depend on project execution, actual production performance and the availability of renewable electricity.
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