A green hydrogen plant will be located in Vigo Free Zone. The project will help the Free Zone become more energy independent and maintain a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The start-up of the plant sometime in the second half of 2024 is included in the tender, along with a payment of 7.1 million euros plus VAT. Work will begin on the photovoltaic installation in the second half of 2023.
The project proposed by the joint venture formed by H2B2, a global technology company in the hydrogen energy sector, and ImesAPI, a company dedicated to the structuring, development and management of infrastructures and services, has been chosen by the Vigo Free Zone Consortium to deploy a green photovoltaic-hydrogen hybrid technology plant at the Bouzas Port Area facilities.
The plant will help the Consortium achieve energy self-sufficiency and decarbonize its operations, with the aim of lowering its CO2 emissions by 1,215 tonnes annually.
The facility will have a system made up of a photovoltaic installation and a hydrogen production, storage, and dispensing plant for mobility, and it will be situated in the Bouzas Port Area. H2B2 will provide the technology related to green hydrogen and ImesAPI will be in charge of the photovoltaic system and the interconnection of both systems.
The Consortium’s industrial buildings’ rooftops will house the photovoltaic solar array, which will cover a surface area of 15,127 m2. It will have an annual production of 3.8 GWh, of which roughly 1.5 GW would be used for collective self-consumption. The surplus will be used for the manufacture of hydrogen, which can also be fed from the electrical grid with the purpose of providing a consistent production of green hydrogen throughout the year. To do this, a 1 MW EL200N electrolyser will produce up to 430 kg of hydrogen each day.
As a result, the initiative will offer a clean, renewable energy source and help to maintain a fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles. “It is increasingly common for institutions and public bodies to choose hydrogen to get involved in the green transition. Due to the advancement of our PEM technology, which produces effective results in constrained locations, H2B2 was able to help with a manufacturing and refuelling facility in this case, according to Juan Manuel López-Gallego, Sales Manager of H2B2.
Just over 7 million euros are proposed for the budget. Approximately 3 million of these would be used for the production of hydrogen and building the service station, 3 million for the photovoltaic installation, and the remaining 1 million would be used for civil construction, waste management, safety and health, quality control, project and procedures, general expenses, and 5-year facility maintenance. By the end of 2024, the project is anticipated to be operational. A green hydrogen plant will be located in Zona Franca de Vigo.
