Energy giant Iberdrola and US power generation company Cummins have announced plans to build the Indiana-based firm’s €50 million electrolyser gigafactory in Castilla-La Mancha, central Spain.
The companies had previously agreed to work together to accelerate the growth of business opportunities for the electrolyser market in Iberia, and are also partnering together on large-scale hydrogen production projects in Spain and Portugal.
They are yet to decide on the exact location of the factory, but are looking at building the plant in the Guadalajara area of the region.
Their €50 million PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) electrolyser plant will house system assembly and testing for approximately 500MW/year and could be scaled up to 1GW/year.
The 22,000m2 site is expected to open in 2023 and create 350 new jobs as production ramps up.
Iberdrola CEO Ignacio Galán, said: “This initiative will accelerate the production of green hydrogen in Spain and will create a new industry, the manufacturing of electrolyser systems, with high growth potential.
"We continue to make progress in our ambitious plan to put Spain and Europe at the global forefront of this technology by reducing energy dependence and fossil fuel consumption while driving the country's economic and social revitalisation.”
US firm Cummins has deployed more than 600 electrolysers in 100 countries globally, while Iberdrola has submitted 53 hydrogen-related projects to the EU’s Next Generation coronavirus recovery programme. These Iberdrola projects could trigger €2.5 billion worth of investments and achieve an annual production of 60,000 tonnes/year.
The European Commission hopes to have 40GW of electrolysis capacity by 2030.
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