Companies in the oil world are also interested in the deployment of electric vehicles, here is one more example. Iberdrola and BP have announced their collaboration on recharging points and green hydrogen production. We have already seen multiple alliances between petrochemicals and electricity companies, as well as the growing interest of the former in the business area of the latter.
Both companies are going to formalize the creation of a joint company or joint venture, with an investment of 1,000 million euros. One of the company’s functions will be to accelerate the deployment of 11,000 fast and ultra-fast charging points in both Spain and Portugal by 2030. The oil company has 1,300 service stations in Spain and Iberdrola has 2,500 charging points in operation or under development, already powered by renewable energy.
Of the projected 11,000 recharging points, 5,000 will be ready in 2025 and will be concentrated mainly in areas of high demand and service stations. This will allow electric vehicle users access to existing facilities: shops, services, etc. The charging points will be designed for passenger cars, vans, and heavy vehicles.
As for green hydrogen, more renewable generation capacity will be installed to be able to jointly produce in Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom a volume of 600,000 tons of this gas per year. This collaboration is likely to be extended to other geographical areas, without giving more details in this regard.
The production of ammonia and methanol from renewable sources is also contemplated, which, being liquid at room temperature, are easier to transport and handle than pure hydrogen. For this purpose, another joint venture type company will be established, hoping that by the end of the year the two will be established, once the necessary permits are obtained.
Included in the agreement is the green hydrogen project at BP’s Castellón refinery. This project has been submitted to the call for the PERTE of Hydrogen Value Chain by the two companies and the Technological Institute of Energy. For its part, Iberdrola already presented the largest hydrogen production plant in Europe, in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), a few weeks ago.
