Spain’s RIC Energy and Siemens have formalized a new partnership aimed at accelerating renewable hydrogen, green ammonia, and e-fuels production across the country.
At the center of this collaboration lies the Compostilla Green project, a sustainable aviation fuel facility proposed in Cubillos del Sil (León), which could play a role in addressing Europe’s SAF supply-demand gap.
Under the memorandum of understanding, Siemens will support RIC Energy through multiple branches of its group—Siemens S.A., Siemens Industry Software, Siemens Financial Services, and Siemens Innovation Strategies. The scope extends from technical and digital infrastructure to financial structuring, signaling a full-spectrum commitment to project execution and commercialization.
The Compostilla Green project, first announced in 2023, aims to produce e-SAF through a power-to-liquid pathway using green hydrogen and captured CO₂. With the European Commission’s RefuelEU Aviation initiative mandating that SAF make up at least 6% of aviation fuel by 2030 and 70% by 2050, current production capacities remain insufficient.
The Compostilla Green project is located in a former coal region, aligning with Spain’s Just Transition Strategy, which seeks to revitalize post-coal economies through clean energy investment.
This logic also underpins the Besaya project in Torrelavega, another RIC Energy initiative supported by the Siemens partnership. Like Compostilla, Besaya is intended to serve as both an industrial catalyst and a low-carbon fuel production hub. Specific details about production volumes, electrolyzer capacity, or funding requirements for either project have not been disclosed, and both remain in pre-FID stages.
Notably, the MoU includes plans to explore structured financing mechanisms—a crucial move given the high CAPEX requirements of SAF and green ammonia infrastructure. In many cases, projects of this scale require layered financing involving public grants, export credit agencies, and private sector capital. Siemens’ financial arm may play a role in de-risking early-stage investment.
The collaboration also emphasizes a coordinated communications strategy, a nod to the political and public dimensions of clean energy deployment.
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