MADRID, 5 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The renewable hydrogen production plant in La Robla (León), promoted by Naturgy and Enagás Renovable, has been proposed by the European Commission to receive 42 million euros within the framework of the Innovation Fund, a program aimed at the deployment of technologies, processes and innovative products that contribute to the decarbonization commitments of the European Union, the companies reported.
The La Robla project will have a production capacity that will reach up to 280 megawatts (MW) and will be located on the land of the former Naturgy thermal power plant, whose definitive closure was authorized in 2020 and whose dismantling will be completed this year.
In addition, the development of the plant will be associated with the launch of a photovoltaic solar generation project made up of various parks located in municipalities surrounding La Robla.
Currently, the European Commission has extended a formal invitation to the promoters to formalize the ‘grant agreement’, marking the beginning of a collaboration that will not only benefit La Robla, but will also contribute to the advancement of innovation and technology at a national level. and European.
The project is one of 13 selected by Brussels in the line of electrification of industry and hydrogen. In total, the European Commission has granted funding to 41 innovative projects with low carbon emissions in its different lines, out of a total of 239 applications.
The Innovation Fund is one of the largest financing programs aimed at the development of innovative technologies aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in the European Union.
The selected projects cover, along with Spain, 14 other countries, including Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden, as well as Norway. All of them will come into operation before 2030 and have the potential to avoid 221 million tons of CO2 emissions in their first decade of operation.
The La Robla project will prevent the emission into the atmosphere of more than 430,000 tons of CO2 per year, contributing to the decarbonization of industrial processes and the development of sustainable mobility.
Specifically, renewable hydrogen will play a key role in the decarbonization of the industrial processes of Fertiberia, the potential main consumer of the hydrogen produced in La Robla.
The CEO of Enagás Renovable, Antón Martínez, considered that this project reinforces the group’s commitment to the energy transition and will allow it to support the decarbonization of the region’s industries. “The funding received is key to realizing this vision and accelerating the shift towards more sustainable energy,” he said.
For her part, Naturgy’s New Business Director, Silvia Sanjoaquín, highlighted that obtaining financing is “a great milestone” for the La Robla hydrogen project and reinforces the commitment to decarbonization through the development of renewable gases. and with the economic reactivation of the Just Transition areas.
