Cepsa selects electrolyzer supplier for its green hydrogen plant in Spain

May 13, 2024, by Aida Čučuk

Spanish energy major Cepsa has chosen thyssenkrupp nucera, the hydrogen business of German-based engineering company thyssenkrupp, as the preferred supplier of a 300-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer for the company’s green hydrogen plant in Huelva, Spain.

Thyssenkrupp nucera will assist in the design and engineering of the facility through to the final investment decision (FID), and the project will use 15 of its standardized scalum electrolyzer units with a capacity of 20 MW each.

With a production of up to 47,000 tons of green hydrogen per year, the plant will form part of Cepsa’s wider plans to develop two gigawatts of green hydrogen capacity in southern Spain by 2030, thyssenkrupp said, noting that Cepsa is developing this Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley as part of an ecosystem of European alliances.

The green electricity required for the production process will come from solar and wind energy, thyssenkrupp added, pointing out that the region also has access to strategic ports, forming the basis for the maritime corridor that Cepsa has set up with partners to transport the hydrogen between southern and northern Europe.

New agreements to solidify Spain and Netherlands’ hydrogen connection

Werner Ponikwar, CEO of thyssenkrupp nucera, commented on the deal: “We are very pleased to be working with an innovative partner to create one of the largest hydrogen valleys in Europe and to contribute to Cepsa’s path to a gigawatt capacity.”

Carlos Barrasa, Cepsa’s Executive Vice President of Commercial and Clean Energies, stated: “Our aimed work with thyssenkrupp nucera brings together leading European businesses to create a European green hydrogen supply chain and accelerate decarbonization across the continent.”

To remind, in 2024, Australia’s ABEL Energy selected thyssenkrupp nucera as the preferred supplier of the 260 MW of electrolyzers required for its hydrogen and methanol project in Bell Bay, Tasmania, Australia.

Furthermore, the company entered a strategic partnership with the German Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) on solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) technology for large-scale hydrogen production. Specifically, thyssenkrupp nucera announced that the company is strengthening its technology portfolio with the “highly innovative” high-temperature electrolysis (SOEC) of the Fraunhofer IKTS.