The Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, has visited the Cepsa Energy Park in San Roque (Cádiz), to learn about the progress of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley. During the visit, Cepsa informed the minister of the progress in the Valley, which will be one of the largest green hydrogen production centres in Europe to decarbonise industry, aviation and heavy maritime and land transport, and turn Spain into a sustainable energy exporting country. This project will mean an investment of 3 billion euros and the creation of 10,000 jobss, between direct, indirect and induced. To produce this energy vector, Cepsa will use renewable electricity and wastewater to reduce freshwater consumption and promote the circular economy.
In addition to the minister and the company’s CEO, part of Cepsa’s management team and other authorities were present at the meeting, such as the Government’s sub-delegate in Cádiz, Blanca Flores, and the mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix. Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Cepsa, thanked the minister for his visit “and his interest in promoting new industrial projects in Spain that generate economic growth and quality employment, such as those we are developing in Andalusia to facilitate the decarbonisation of such important sectors as transport and tourism.”
Boosting decarbonized industry in Andalusia
In parallel, the company is building in the province of Huelva together with Bio-Oils the largest second-generation biofuel plant in Southern Europe, with an associated investment of up to 1.2 billion euros and the capacity to produce 500,000 tonnes per year of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel to contribute to the decarbonisation of air, sea and land transport.
The San Roque and Palos de la Frontera Energy Parks, for their part, have increased their capacity for co-processing second-generation raw materials. In these facilities, the company already produces SAF, renewable diesel and sustainable marine fuels. In addition, the company has started a new line of business, for which it is building in Huelva. an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) chemical plant, which is used as a raw material in the manufacture of hydroalcoholic gels. It will be the first facility of its kind in Spain to use green hydrogen and to be able to replace raw materials of fossil origin with sustainable materials.