UK oil giant BP has announced a €2 billion investment to develop a green hydrogen hub at its Castellon refinery in the Valencian Community.
Green hydrogen – generated by the electrolysis of water using renewable power – will support the decarbonisation of the refinery’s operations, replacing its current use of grey hydrogen generated from natural gas.
Production of biofuels at Castellon is expected to increase three-fold by 2030, with the first electrolyser expected to come online in four years time.
Green hydrogen will also be used in biofuel production- specifically of sustainable aviation fuel(SAF).
The project has been called ‘HyVal’- combining the words ‘hydrogen’ and ‘Valencia’.
President of BP España, Andres Guevara, said: ““We see HyVal as key to Castellon’s transformation and critical to supporting decarbonisation across the Valencia region, which will help support thousands of industrial jobs in the area.”
“We plan to triple the refinery’s production of biofuels to help meet the growing demand for lower-carbon fuels such as SAF,” he added.
Green hydrogen produced at the Castellon refinery will also be used in key regional industries, such as the ceramic sector replacing the natural gas used in their processes; chemical factories producing green ammonia; and in heavy transport.
It is anticipated that the full development of HyVal will create up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Valencia region.
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