Los Barrios will have the first green hydrogen production plant in Andalusia. The Industry Minister of the Regional Government, Jorge Paradela, believes that Andalusia must be a European leader in the production of clean energies.
"Andalusia is strongly pushing for green hydrogen. We have 15 projects in the pipeline, two of which have been certified as of European interest. We have the opportunity to lead the production and export of these clean energies as well as to create value chains," explains Paradela.
According to Paradela, projects of this kind bring "quality employment and innovation as well as attraction of other industries" that do not operate in the autonomous community to Andalusia.
Companies Coagener and Guadacorte have made an investment of €5.8 million, with a subsidy from the IDEA program, to build this plant that will generate one megawatt of electricity through photovoltaic panels to produce this type of sustainable hydrogen. According to the companies, the project will be inaugurated in September and will create about 101 jobs in the Campo de Gibraltar. It will be a 4 MWp photovoltaic plant, with 8,008 photovoltaic modules with the aim of generating green hydrogen, specifically to produce one megawatt of green hydrogen. This will be produced by a generating unit with PEM technology from water electrolysis with a storage capacity of 500 kilos of H2 in 18 m3, which will have an annual production of 80 tonnes of green hydrogen.
The project director, Pablo Gómez, has been in charge of breaking down the details of this new green hydrogen production plant. "It's going to be a very present sector in our lives and we have to be the first to take this step. We are now completing the assembly of infrastructure and in late May, the electrolyzer equipment will be installed to produce green hydrogen," he says. In addition, Gómez has explained that "the cheapest way to produce green hydrogen is through photovoltaic panels that will feed the electrolyzer equipment that produces this clean energy. In this way, the final product will be more affordable and accessible to consumers."
For his part, the mayor of Los Barrios, Miguel Alconchel, believes that "this is a very important project for entrepreneurs in the region and we will be pioneers in these energies and in many other sectors." "This investment in the municipality is thanks to the joint work between the City Council and companies, many months of management work. This demonstrates that Los Barrios is an ideal place to invest and to attract those investments, moreover an investment that is diverse and that includes sectors such as logistics linked to the Port of Algeciras, new wind and photovoltaic parks, etc.," concludes the mayor.
In addition, Alconchel took advantage of the presence of the Industry Minister to call on the Andalusian Government for new and better infrastructure to make the Campo de Gibraltar area more competitive.
"We need to promote these much-needed infrastructures for the region, many projects are going to land in the municipality and it is essential for those investments that we demonstrate that we are capable of attracting investments despite the deficiencies in infrastructure that the Campo de Gibraltar suffers," he concludes.