The CEO of Repsol, Josu Jon Imaz, was yesterday particularly critical of the European policy to combat climate change. He believes that the regulation deployed by Brussels is based on “prohibition” and “ideological entombment”, and in this way is causing Europe to fall behind in the technological battle with the United States.
Imaz made these considerations in Bilbao, during the inauguration of Repsol’s first electrolyser to produce green hydrogen. Its aim is to develop six more projects with more potential, including the largest plant of its kind in Spain, which will be in Tarragona.
Repsol’s complaint has to do with the concept of technological neutrality. From its point of view, the European Commission is betting on electrification in order to decarbonize the industry, when there are activities such as air, maritime or heavy transport in which this paradigm shift is not possible and in which it will be necessary invest in low-polluting fuels.
“While in the United States they are betting on technological neutrality, in Europe we are with the ban and the restriction, discussing the possible ban of the combustion engine in 2035”, lamented the manager.
“If Europe forbids it, the investments to make it more efficient go to the United States and we lose the technological race because of the ideological obfuscation that wants to restrict the technologies that will help us decarbonize”, he added.
Repsol considers that there is a wide margin to reduce emissions through the use of renewable fuels, which are those that do not have a fossil origin, but come from circular raw materials such as non-food organic waste, renewable hydrogen or captured CO2.
The recently launched green hydrogen production by Repsol is done through an electrolysis process, in which the water molecules are separated into oxygen and hydrogen through the injection of renewable electricity. The new electrolyser has a power of 2.5 megawatts (MW) and will produce nearly 350 tons of hydrogen per year.
Production will go to Petronor’s facilities and also to hydro-liners located in the technology park of Abanto Zierbana, where buses and heavy vehicles powered by hydrogen are supplied. Nortegas has therefore built a hydroduct between Petronor and the technology park.
Repsol is the leading producer and consumer of hydrogen in Spain. Its plants currently produce 360,000 tonnes, equivalent to 60% of national demand, which is why its decarbonisation plans are key for the industry. The forecast is to start up two more electrolyzers in Petronor, of 10 MW and 100 MW, in addition to one in Cartagena of 100 MW and one more in Tarragona of 150 MW, which will be the largest in Spain.
