- LOCAL IMPACT: The project, currently in the development stage, foresees a total investment of €87 million as well as the creation of over 500 jobs
- 3,880 TONS/YEAR: The aim is to use 90% of the production of green hydrogen for consumption by the main industrial sectors of the region
According to the company’s website press release on February 21, 2023, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) and ACCIONA Energía have presented to the Government of Navarra (Spain) their Valle H2V Navarra joint project to build an industrial-scale, green hydrogen production plant in Rocaforte, Sangüesa.
The project, currently in the development stage, involves the construction of a 25MW electrolyzer on the land plots adjacent to the Sangüesa biomass plant. The electrolyzer will be powered by hybrid renewable energy produced at a photovoltaic plant (25MW) and a wind farm (24MW), both newly built facilities that are currently under development.
The plans of Plug and ACCIONA Energía entail a total associated investment of €87 million, and the creation of over 500 direct, indirect, and induced jobs during the construction of the plant.
Once built, the plant will reach a total production of 3,880 tons of green hydrogen per year. The aim is to use 90% of the green hydrogen production for consumption by the main energy-intensive industries in the area, such as paper, glass, steel, food and automotive, contributing to their decarbonization and the reduction of their CO2 emissions, including Plug’s customers in material handling, stationary power, and on-road mobility applications. The remaining 10% will be used for the transport sector through the installation of a hydrogen station at the same location.
The project envisages the possibility to expand the hydrogen plant in the future, depending on the evolution of demand, to double the initially planned power (50MW) of electrolysis.
PROJECT OF INTEREST FOR THE REGION
Several representatives from the Navarra Government attended the presentation, including the President, María Victoria Chivite, the Regional Minister of Economic and Business Development Mikel Irujo, and the General Director of Industry, Uxue Itoiz. In addition, the Mayor of Sangüesa Lucía Echegoyen, and the President of the Rocaforte Council María Eugenia Pérez, participated too. Representing the project was the Chairman of ACCIONAPLUG and CEO of ACCIONA Energía, Rafael Mateo, the CEO of ACCIONAPLUG, Alan Ripa, and the European Sales Director for the Applications Business unit of Plug, Alasdair Leapman.
The President of Navarra, María Chivite, announced during today's meeting that the regional government is declaring the Valle H2V Navarra project an investment of interest for the region at its session tomorrow. This will speed up its processing and development. She also highlighted the "strategic" nature of this project, not only because of the investment and the jobs created, but also because "it will provide clean energy to the industrial ecosystem of the region, where there are companies that are large consumers of energy, and because it will place Sangüesa on the innovation map".
The project brings together all the key elements of the green hydrogen value chain: renewable energy generation, production infrastructure, storage, and distribution of green hydrogen. At this time, it will be one of the largest hydrogen plants commissioned in Europe.
"Valle H2V Navarra was created with the objective of being the first operational green hydrogen generation plant at industrial scale in Navarra, and to give a qualitative and quantitative boost to the decarbonization of the industry in the region," said Rafael Mateo, Chairman of ACCIONAPLUG and CEO of ACCIONA Energía. "In addition, this project is of particular interest thanks to its scalability and replicability, as it will provide an operational example of the contribution of green hydrogen in the energy transition."
The Valle H2V Navarra project plans to start generating green hydrogen by the end of 2024, thus enabling the government of Navarra to comply with the Navarra Green Hydrogen Agenda, a roadmap for the development of a green hydrogen ecosystem, which foresees the installation of between 10MW and 30MW of production by 2024 and 150MW by 2030 in the region.
COMPETITIVE GREEN HYDROGEN SOLUTIONS
The Valle H2V Navarra project is being developed by ACCIONAPLUG, a 50/50 joint venture between ACCIONA Energía, world leader in renewable energies, and Plug Power, leading provider of turnkey hydrogen solutions for the global green hydrogen economy, such as electrolyzers, fuel cells, and liquefaction.
The joint venture, based in Madrid, combines Plug's best-in-class electrolyzer technology and ACCIONA Energía's status as the leading distributor of 100% renewable energy in Spain and Portugal, countries where ACCIONAPLUG is working on the development of green hydrogen projects.
Spain and Portugal are ready to play a leading role in the European economy's path to decarbonization, benefiting from high levels of renewable resources. The Spanish government presented its hydrogen roadmap in October 2020 and Portugal approved its own in August 2020. ACCIONAPLUG's goal is to reach 20% market share by 2030.
About Plug
Plug Power is building the hydrogen economy as the leading provider of comprehensive hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) turnkey solutions. The Company’s innovative technology powers electric motors with hydrogen fuel cells amid an ongoing paradigm shift in the power, energy, and transportation industries to address climate change and energy security, while providing efficiency gains and meeting sustainability goals. Plug created the first commercially viable market for hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) technology. As a result, the Company has deployed over 50,000 fuel cell systems for e-mobility, more than anyone else in the world, and has become the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen, having built and operated a hydrogen highway across North America. Plug delivers a significant value proposition to end-customers, including meaningful environmental benefits, efficiency gains, fast fueling, and lower operational costs. Plug’s vertically integrated GenKey solution ties together all critical elements to power, fuel, and provide service to customers such as Amazon, BMW, The Southern Company, Carrefour, and Walmart. The Company is now leveraging its know-how, modular product architecture and foundational customers to rapidly expand into other key markets including zero-emission on-road vehicles, robotics, and data centers.
ACCIONA Energía is the largest 100% renewable energy company with no fossil legacy in the world. It has 11.4GW of renewable energy and commercial operations in 30 countries. With 30 years of experience, ACCIONA Energía offers a complete portfolio of tailor-made energy solutions for its corporate and institutional clients to meet their decarbonization goals. ACCIONA Energía is committed to the highest environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) standards. ACCIONA S.A., a leading global company in the provision of regenerative solutions for a decarbonized economy, is the reference shareholder of ACCIONA Energía. www.acciona-energia.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains “forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve significant risks and uncertainties about Plug Power Inc. Such forward looking statements are: the plans of ACCIONA Energía and Plug Power investing €87 million to fund the industrial-scale, green hydrogen production plant (“Plant”); the construction of the Plant creating 500 direct, indirect, and induced jobs; the Plant reaching a total production of 3,880 tons of green hydrogen per year; using 90% of the production of green hydrogen generated by the Plant for consumption by the main industrial sectors; the possible expansion of the Plant, including doubling the initially electrolysis power; and the Plant generating green hydrogen by the end of 2024. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in these statements. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of PLUG in general, see PLUG’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the “Risk Factors'' section of PLUG’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any subsequent filings with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and PLUG undertakes no obligation to update such statements as a result of new information.
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