For a synthetic fuels factory in Bilbao, Spain, Repsol and Saudi Arabia’s state-controlled Saudi Aramco aim to utilise Fischer Tropsch technology created by UK technology companies Johnson Matthey and BP.
From 2024, the plant will have a production capacity of 2,100 t/yr of road, marine, and aviation fuels, with plans for additional expansion. It will be fed by a 10MW green hydrogen electrolyser facility being built by Repsol, the Basque regional government’s energy agency EVE, and Spanish gas grid supplier Enagas, which is expected to be operational in 2024.
Green hydrogen, produced using renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power, is mixed with carbon dioxide to produce carbon monoxide, which is then combined with more hydrogen to produce synthetic gas, which can be converted and upgraded into sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel, and naphtha.
As part of its Basque Hydrogen Corridor plan to decarbonize the area, Repsol is launching a 2.5MW green hydrogen electrolyser at its 240,000 b/d Petronor refinery in Bilbao this year, followed by a 100MW electrolyser in 2025. It plans to invest €2.549 billion ($2.7 billion) in total to install 1.9 gigawatts of renewable hydrogen by 2030.
Last year, as part of Repsol’s objective to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, the Petronor refinery began co-processing sustainable aviation fuel derived from waste with standard jet fuel.
