BP launches green hydrogen cluster in Spain

UK-based oil and gas major BP has launched the green hydrogen cluster of the Valencia region (HyVal) at its Castellón refinery in Spain.

The company announced the launch of the hydrogen cluster on 28 February, stating that this BP-led public-private collaborative initiative aims to be based around the phased development of up to 2GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030 for producing green hydrogen at its Castellón refinery.

According to BP, HyVal is expected to play an instrumental role in decarbonising the operations of its Castellón refinery. Its transformation, including green hydrogen, biofuels and renewable energy, could see BP invest a total of up to €2 billion Euro in Castellon 2030.

Furthermore, the refinery’s production of biofuels is expected to increase three-fold, to 650,000 tonnes a year by 2030. Green hydrogen will also be used as a feedstock in biofuel production, specifically of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In addition to being used by BP at the refinery, the green hydrogen produced will also be used in key hard-to-abate industries in the Valencia region, such as the ceramic industry replacing the natural gas used in their processes, chemical industries for the production of green ammonia and in heavy transport.

The hydrogen production in the HyVal is expected to be developed in phases. The first, anticipated to be operational in 2027, will involve the installation of an electrolysis plant with at least 200MW capacity at Castellón refinery. This initial stage would be expected to produce up to 31,200 tonnes of green hydrogen per year.

In the second phase, which could be completed in 2030, the electrolysis plant would be expanded to reach a capacity of up to 2GW of net installed power. Green hydrogen production from such a world-scale plant could support both regional and national demand, as well as positioning Valencia region to export green hydrogen to the rest of Europe through the Mediterranean corridor of green hydrogen H2Med.

Andrés Guevara, President of BP Energía España, said: “We see Hyval as key to Castellón’s transformation and critical to supporting decarbonisation across the Valencia region. We aim to develop up to 2GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030 for green hydrogen production, helping decarbonise our operations and customers. And we plan to triple the refinery’s production of biofuels to help meet the growing demand for lower-carbon fuels such as SAF. We believe HyVal can play an important role in Valencia region’s efforts to decarbonise and help support thousands of industrial jobs across the region.”