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One of these two projects has already cleared the environmental approval process. The other is in the public consultation phase. Both are located in the municipality of Antequera in the north of Malaga province. What both plans have in common is the production of green hydrogen, a key energy for the future and a strategic move for reducing energy dependence and advancing in decarbonisation. These are the first projects to generate this type of energy in Malaga province. It is a historic step towards what is considered to be the energy resource of the future.
A project called Salesianos, promoted by the company Telmo Solar, is currently in the public consultation phase and is the largest of its kind by far. The plant will also be the first to be self-sufficient, thanks to the fact that it will have its own photovoltaic solar farm, according to the summary document consulted by SUR.
"The design power of the plant will be 30 megawatts of electric to produce hydrogen from deionised water, with a production of up to 540 kg/h of high purity hydrogen, after passing through a purification plant, reaching purity values above 99.999%, which is the necessary requirement for its use in fuel cells. The maximum production capacity in continuous operation mode is 4,536 tonnes of hydrogen per year and in operation mode with self-consumption of photovoltaic energy it produces a total of 1,318 tonnes of hydrogen per year," the document states.
The alkaline electrolyser generates this hydrogen at 30-40 bar pressure. After going through the purification process it will be piped to a storage tank area with an estimated total capacity of 26 tonnes of hydrogen at 40 bar. The total storage volume will be 8,000 cubic metres and the occupied area for the tanks, including the interconnection between the tanks, will be approximately 5,500 square metres.
The supporting solar park will have a capacity of 25 MW. The project has analysed two sites to cater for both the plant and solar park. Both sites are located in the northern part of Antequera, on land to the south of the A-92 road.
The document analysing these sites goes into depth into the possible environmental impacts, which will be key to obtaining unified authorisation from the Junta's department of sustainability. In both cases, the total surface area exceeds 58 hectares.
In addition, the possibility of connection to the electricity distribution network is being planned for via a line and substation annexed to the plant. The main destination of the hydrogen produced will be storage and then distribution to the key consumers of green hydrogen, used in industrial applications, the heavy transport sector and other vehicular transport. The plant will be part of the ecosystem of production, sale and distribution of hydrogen to refuelling stations or hydrogenerators.
Besides the above uses there are also plans for the future possibility of carrying out a complementary project to connect to the Enagás gas network by means of a hydroproduct. In this way the injection of green hydrogen into the natural gas network is envisaged in accordance with the technical and regulatory parameters and requirements.
The overall investment is very high: more than 61 million euros for the hydrogen part, 16 million euros in the photovoltaic part and 144,000 euros for auxiliary installations.
The other project, smaller in scope but more advanced, is led by Fisterra, the energy company owned by the Blackstone fund, and it has already received environmental approval. As SUR has learned, the total surface area of the plant is 10,919 square metres. It will be located in Antequera (Malaga) and will have a hydrogen production capacity of 1,806 kilos per day.
In this case, the technology used is proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. The storage capacity is limited to cover the decoupling between production and consumption. The possibility of receiving hydrogen by trailer from industrial plants is also up for consideration.
These two plants will be, if they come to fruition, the first factories to produce green hydrogen in Malaga province. This good news comes on the back of last summer's announcement by Chinese multinational Hygreen Energy to set up a factory in Malaga province to manufacture electrolysers. The company finally chose Humilladero near Antequera and plans to create 1,000 jobs. There are still many stumbling blocks to be resolved before this project becomes a reality.
The term 'green hydrogen' refers to the production of hydrogen generated by low-emission renewable energies. In other words, green hydrogen is ordinary hydrogen, but produced by environmentally friendly methods.
Green hydrogen is neither an energy source nor a fuel in itself, but what is known as an energy carrier. What does this mean? It is a means of storing energy that has been produced by primary energy sources (light, heat, electrical energy or combinations of these sources) for transporting and releasing it when and where it is needed. It is like a battery, a means of transporting energy so that energy can be moved from the primary energy source to where it is needed.
Both the European Union and the Spanish government are committed to green hydrogen as a tool to accelerate the decarbonisation of the economy.
Some of the best-known uses of green hydrogen are in electricity generation, transport, industry, energy storage, heating, air conditioning and production of synthetic fuels.
The main method of obtaining green hydrogen right now is the electrolysis of water, which is nothing more than separating water molecules (H₂O) into oxygen (O₂) and hydrogen (H₂) using electricity. This process is carried out in a device called an electrolyser, which consists of two electrodes (anode and cathode) and a membrane that allows the ions to pass through. What distinguishes green hydrogen is that the electricity used in the electrolysis comes from renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind or hydroelectric, which ensures that there are no carbon emissions. In this process the only by-product is oxygen, making the process extremely clean. To generate one tonne of hydrogen, approximately 11,000 litres of water are needed.
It should be noted that the development of green hydrogen is very recent. Back only in 2020 some 99% of hydrogen was still produced from carbon-based sources. We are now at a critical stage for its expansion and evolution thanks to significant technological and infrastructural advances as well as government support within energy transition plans, but there are still significant challenges to overcome. By 2030, a production capacity of 45 million tonnes of clean hydrogen is expected globally. However, much of the planned infrastructure is still in the early planning stages.
Green hydrogen faces several key challenges if it is to become a globally dominant energy solution, such as the need for specific regulations, the reduction of production costs and the expansion of storage and transport infrastructure.
The European Union aims to become the world's most hydrogen-intensive zone by 2030. It estimates that it will need 20 million tonnes to meet its decarbonisation needs. Half of this sum is intended to be imported from third-party countries. To boost the green hydrogen industry, it has made more than 25 billion euros available through the various funding mechanisms set up for hydrogen projects.
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