Alvic gives its support to the Hydrogenizing BCN initiative to start the hydrogen economy

28/04/2021

The Hydrogenizing BCN initiative, launched in 2020, has brought together an international consortium of more than 20 companies, research institutes and public entities, with the institutional support of the Port of Barcelona, to work together to implement a hydrogen economy in Barcelona, its metropolitan area and its wider (inter)national area of influence.

The Hydrogenizing BCN initiative has the ambition to make the green hydrogen economy a reality, and proposes to achieve this ambition through close public-private cooperation by developing economically viable green hydrogen-based business models. The Hydrogenizing BCN initiative will also strive to create an inclusive ecosystem for SMEs that allows them to participate in the evolution of the green hydrogen economy, creating more sustainable business opportunities and value-added jobs.

Green hydrogen as an energy vector and the development of the hydrogen economy are among the priorities of the European Union's Green Deal. The ambition of the Hydrogenizing Barcelona initiative is to promote the acceleration of the energy transition through the deployment of green hydrogen projects.

The Port of Barcelona was identified by promoters Kopala International and Resilient Group as the ideal place to develop a long-term strategy based on green hydrogen as a key component of the energy transition in Barcelona and the Catalonia region. Green hydrogen has the potential to significantly accelerate the decarbonization of various sectors, including heavy transport, port and maritime activities, general mobility in the metropolitan area, as well as replace gray hydrogen in industry and decrease the carbon content of natural gas networks. These sectors represent strong latent demand for green hydrogen, and the consortium partners are actively working to expand and align this ecosystem of diversified demand.

Implementation of the initiative will not only accelerate decarbonization, but also lead to cleaner air and trigger new economic growth in the region as new hydrogen production infrastructure, fuel cell electric vehicles, hydrogen (FCEV), industrial machinery and the ecosystem of respective services.

Since green hydrogen is produced from water and electricity from renewable sources, it reduces dependency on fossil fuels, increases security of supply and strengthens national and regional industrial value chains. It is the missing link for the full and accelerated implementation of Europe's Green Deal.

The Barcelona Hydrogenation Initiative will be implemented in several phases. The first and leverage phase, H2BCN, will see a mix of PEM (H2B2), alkaline (John Cockerill) and AEM (Enapter) electrolyzers deployed to a total capacity of 20MW, powered by rooftop PV (BayWa re) at the Zona Franca and the virtual ecological PPAs, which produce enough ecological hydrogen for approximately 200 Fuel Cell (Hyzon) trucks, other FCEV vehicles and industry. The vehicles will be introduced in daily operations by logistics operators (Butransa & Primafrio Group). In December 2020, the project promoters submitted an expression of interest to the Spanish government for this phase.

A second phase will increase the hydrogen production capacity with 100MW, for which the Project100 proposal was presented in February 2021 under the "Green Deal Call". This proposal is coordinated by Resilient Group, as developer and owner-operator of electrolyzers, in conjunction with Kopala International, and alkaline electrolyser manufacturer John Cockerill. A solid consortium that also includes the engineering company Técnicas Reunidas, the gas network operator Redexis, the specialist in digital technologies for service stations Alvic and the renewable energy company BayWa r.e., and which has the support of the Research and innovation specialists from Fraunhofer ISE, IREC, Enercoutim and Aalborg University. The Port of Barcelona completes the consortium, with the structuring of investments by Cube Infrastructure Managers.

The implementation of Project100 will bring several innovations through significant improvements in electrolyser technology, digital enhancements, and integration with a VPP to deliver significant flexibility and optimization.

Hydrogenizing BCN expects more project and funding proposals to be added as the initiative expands and gains scale.

H2BCN & Project100 Consortium Participants

Alvic – Plant management IT integration
BayWa r.e. — Supply green electricity from PV and wind.
Butransa – HRS operator & logistics operator hydrogen consumer
Cetaqua – Supply regenerated water for electrolysis.
Cube Infrastructure Managers – Institutional investor
Enapter – Supply of AEM electrolyser
Frauenhofer Institute – Scientific partner
H2B2 – Supply of PEM electrolyser
Hyzon Europe – Fuel Cell truck manufacturer
IREC – Scientific partner
John Cockerill – Supply of Alkaline electrolyser
Kopala International – Initiative promotor & electrolyser investor
Port of Barcelona – Institutional support
Primafrio Group – Logistics operator & hydrogen consumer
Redexis – Storage, compression & HRS infrastructure investor
Resilient Group – Initiative promotor & electrolyser investor
Técnicas Reunidas – Project engineering
Aalborg University – Scientific partner

The opinion of the partners

Marc Rechter, CEO of Resilient Group, co-developer of Hydrogenizing Barcelona, shared that “hydrogen is an essential component of the energy transition, and demonstration projects are needed to refine and scale new business models that will develop the hydrogen economy” .

Jeffrey Dost, CEO of Kopala International, creator and promoter of the Hydrogenizing BCN initiative, considers that “If we want the world to be sustainable and the green hydrogen economy a reality, we must ensure that citizens can benefit from green hydrogen in their daily lives. and that green hydrogen creates quality jobs for them”.

Roc Arisa, general director of Alvic, comments that the main objective of his company is to help traditional service stations to migrate to new technologies and energies.

Francesc Aguilar, Director of Transport at BUTRANSA, states that "replacing fossil energy imports with the local production of green hydrogen is exactly what Catalonia needs to achieve neutrality in the trade balance or even an economic surplus".

Juan Conesa, CEO and founder of Grupo Primafrio: “The ecological transition is today more than ever a necessary step to curb climate change and integrate zero-emission logistics into our daily lives. Green hydrogen is the best opportunity that human beings have found in history to guarantee and preserve life and biodiversity for our next generation.”

Where to find Hydrogenizing BCN:

Hydrogenizingbcn.com
Hydrogenizingbcn.es
Hydrogenizingbcn.cat
Hydrogenizingbcn.eu