Elecnor is awarded the assembly and supply of electrical materials and Consonni the manufacture of medium voltage equipment for the Puertollano plant.

• After an investment of 150 million euros, the Puertollano project will produce hydrogen for Fertiberia’s plant this year by means of electrolysis (20 MW), powered by a 100 MW photovoltaic plant

Iberdrola has incorporated the Basque companies Elecnor and Consonni into the largest green hydrogen project in Europe today, which will contribute to decarbonising the industrial fertiliser manufacturing process at the Fertiberia plant in Puertollano, Ciudad Real. With these awards, it is also making progress in another of its objectives: the development of a value chain around green hydrogen to position our country as a European technological and industrial benchmark in one of the key energy vectors for the electrification of industry and heavy transport.

Elecnor will carry out the electrical assembly of the Puertollano plant and will supply materials such as electrical panels and cabinets, supports, conduits and lighting. Construcciones Electromecánicas Consonni, for its part, will manufacture the medium-voltage equipment at its plant in Bilbao. The latter company is working on another Iberdrola green hydrogen project, to which it will supply a containerised low-voltage electrical substation for the first public hydrogen plant, which will supply green hydrogen to the buses of Transports Municipals de Barcelona (TMB), in the Zona Franca of Barcelona.

The Puertollano green hydrogen plant will be operational this year, after an investment of 150 million euros: it will be the largest green hydrogen complex for industrial use in Europe, so far, with a 20 MW hydrogen production system by electrolysis, integrated also by a 100 MW photovoltaic and a lithium-ion battery system (20 MWh).

In the bidding process, Iberdrola has valued Elecnor’s capacity in engineering, manufacturing, supply and installation of electrical equipment projects and Consonni’s experience in the manufacture of medium and low voltage electrical equipment, as well as the specialisation of the human team that both companies have for the execution of these projects. The award is part of Iberdrola’s strategy to promote the contracting of companies involved in promoting environmental, social and governance (ESG) values.

Development of innovative industrial chains with high added value

Green hydrogen has a very high potential as an energy vector for the electrification of industrial processes and heavy transport, mainly. It has also been identified as a key solution for the decarbonisation of the economy and the development of innovative industrial chains with high added value in Spain and the European Union.

Iberdrola has planned the most ambitious green hydrogen project in Europe, together with Fertiberia, to develop 800 MW of green hydrogen in four phases, at the Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) plants, until 2027.

The initiative represents an investment of 1,800 million euros and could make Spain an industrial leader in the green hydrogen sector and the first country with 100% production of ammonia for fertilisers that is completely green.

Opportunities for suppliers and employment

Iberdrola has submitted 53 projects related to green hydrogen to the Next Generation EU programme, which would trigger investments of 2,500 million euros to achieve an annual production of 60,000 tn. The green hydrogen production capacity would be equivalent to 20% of the national target (installed capacity of 4GW in 2030) and would ensure that around 25% of the hydrogen currently consumed in Spain would not generate CO₂ emissions.

The company expects this and other Iberdrola hydrogen projects to drive economic growth and employment, contributing to the creation of approximately 4,000 skilled jobs at 500 local suppliers.