A worker walks inside an ammonium nitrate warehouse at the Fertiberia industrial complex in Puertollano, central Spain, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. Spanish energy company Iberdrola and fertilizer manufacturer Fertiberia partnered to create the first zero-carbon plant nutrients in the world. The fertilizer will one day be scattered onto malt barley, which will then be used to make Heineken's first"green malt" beverage.
But supporters are relying on the country's plans for a head start to implant themselves in the nascent green hydrogen economy. The International Energy Agency estimated in December that Spain would account for“The sense of urgency is that everyone seems to be racing to be the first to export green hydrogen," said Alejandro Núñez-Jiménez, an expert in green hydrogen policy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
The green hydrogen plant in Puertollano, Europe's largest functioning facility, is currently in a pilot phase. Iberdrola owns the 100 megawatts' worth of solar panels that power electrolyzers to separate water from hydrogen. Huge hydrogen storage tanks then feed pipes that take the gas direct to Fertiberia, where it is used to make ammonia, the foundational chemical in nitrogen fertilizers.that fertilizers emit the equivalent of 2.
“Right now, we are at such an early stage that we need that help from the public authorities to cover the funding gap,” Plaza de Agustín said. “Without a framework is difficult to invest in a plant and facility for 20, 25 years without knowing what’s going to happen.” “Spain and Portugal could produce a lot of green hydrogen, and demand in Central Europe may materialize, but the connection between supply and demand does not exist yet,” he said. “Developing the infrastructure to transport that gas from the Iberian peninsula to central Europe must be a priority.”
Partnerships are key. Ammonia created at the Fertiberia plant with Iberdrola's green hydrogen could be used to transport hydrogen in liquid form before it is reconverted into a gas.
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