The transfer and supply of five of the eleven renewable hydrogen storage tanks to Iberdrola’s largest plant in Europe for the manufacture of this gas by water electrolysis has commenced.
Green hydrogen storage is critical to ensuring the supply stability demanded by industry and to maximizing the efficiency of renewable energy production. These tanks, produced in Asturias, are capable of storing 2,700 kg of green hydrogen at a pressure of 60 bars.
Each tank contains 133 m3 of water and measures 23 metres in height and 2.8 metres in diameter. Each tank weighs 77 tonnes empty and will be assembled using two cranes: a 600-tonne main crane and a smaller auxiliary crane. The tanks are constructed of a specific steel designed to hold hydrogen due to the particle’s small size, and the sheet metal thickness is 47mm.
The tanks will begin arriving at Puertollano, their eventual destination, today, Monday 13 December. The tanks will access the site through a reverse manoeuvre to accommodate the required turning radii due to the presence of the current Fertiberia facility and the green hydrogen plant developed by Iberdrola.
Green hydrogen offers a tremendous amount of promise as an energy vector, particularly for electrifying industrial processes and heavy transportation. Additionally, it has been recognised as a critical component of the economy’s decarbonisation and the development of innovative industrial chains with a high added value in Spain and the European Union.
Iberdrola has created a plan to build around 800 MW of electrolysers to produce green hydrogen and, ultimately, green ammonia and fertilisers in four phases between Puertollano (Ciudad Real) and Palos de la Frontera (Huelva), until 2027.
The proposal, which will cost 1.8 billion euros, has the potential to establish Spain as an industrial leader in the green hydrogen sector and the first country to produce ammonia for fertilisers on a 100 percent green basis.
Iberdrola has filed 53 green hydrogen projects to the Next Generation EU initiative, which would result in 2.5 billion euros in expenditures to attain an annual production capacity of 60,000 TN. Green hydrogen production capacity would be equivalent to 20% of the national aim (installed capacity of 4GW in 2030) and would ensure that about 25% of the hydrogen consumed in Spain now does not generate CO2. This and other Iberdrola hydrogen initiatives are intended to stimulate economic growth and employment, creating roughly 4,000 skilled positions at 500 local suppliers.
