Iberdrola and bp today announced their plan to establish a strategic alliance with the aim of supporting the acceleration of the energy transition. The companies will work together to dramatically expand public EV fast-charging infrastructure that is accelerating EV penetration, as well as develop large-scale green hydrogen production centers in Spain, Portugal and the UK.
The president of Iberdrola, Ignatius Galan, indicated that “with this agreement, we continue to move forward in decarbonization and energy autonomy through the electrification of two key sectors of our economy, transport and industry. The dimension of this challenge requires alliances between companies such as Iberdrola and bp, which have the technology and knowledge necessary to help accelerate industrial development in Europe and, at the same time, generate well-being and new opportunities for all through clean energy”.
For its part, Bernard LooneyCEO of bp, said in this regard that “developing the low-carbon energy solutions demanded by our customers requires the integration of different technologies, capacities and forms of energy and we will be able to achieve this more quickly and at scale. working in collaboration with others.
“We hope that the strategic agreement with Iberdrola will become a clear example of this: from renewable energy to large engineering projects, customers and digitization, we have the necessary experience and complementary capabilities. Working together, we can offer innovative solutions that meet the challenge of large-scale decarbonization to accelerate the energy transition,” added the boss of bp.
Accelerating the rapid charging of electric vehicles
Iberdrola and bp plan to create a joint venture with an investment plan of up to 1,000 million euros with the aim of deploying a network of 11,000 fast and ultra-fast public charging points in high demand locations in Spain and in Portugal, significantly expanding access to charging for both passenger cars and fleets of heavy goods vehicles and vans, thereby accelerating electric mobility.
The plan provides for the installation and operation 5,000 fast charging stations in 2025 and reach the target of 11,000 by 2030. To achieve this, bp and Iberdrola are proposing to include their current and future fast charging centers in this joint venture.
The two companies are collaborating to develop joint public and home charging solutions in the UK.
Iberdrola offers comprehensive mobility services to cover all the needs of electric vehicle users: residential, professional and public charging, including solutions for urban and heavy transport (electrification of buses and trucks).
Infrastructure Manager
Iberdrola is the leader in public charging infrastructure in Spain and Portugal with more than 2,500 operating points and many more under development, which have renewable energy for decarbonize end-to-end transport.
bp’s goal is to rapidly expand its electric vehicle charging points globally and continue to invest in fast and ultra-fast charging infrastructure. Drivers of electric vehicles can now access the bp European network, with more than 10,000 charging stations, mainly in the UK and Germany.
bp plans to use part of its extensive network, with 1,300 service stations, as charging points for the joint venture in Spain and Portugal. Thus, electric vehicle drivers will be able to recharge at secure stations, with access to additional comfort services.
Integrated production of green hydrogen on a large scale
The companies plan to set up a joint venture for the large-scale integrated production of green hydrogen in Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, as well as the production of its derivatives such as green ammonia and methanol, with export potential to Northern Europe North.
This strategic collaboration will combine Iberdrola’s globally recognized experience as a leader in renewable energy development and its global customer base, with bp’s experience in gas and process systems, marketing and its global customer base.
The companies’ objective is to jointly develop hydrogen production centers in Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom, with a capacity of up to 600,000 tonnes per year, integrating new capacities in renewable energies.
The green hydrogen project at the bp Castellón refinery will be part of the agreement. The two companies, in collaboration with the Technological Institute of Energy, presented the Castellón project to the PERTE call for the Spanish government’s hydrogen value chain.
Likewise, industrial projects under development by Iberdrola and bp, as well as new projects, will be part of the agreement.
Based on this collaboration in Spain, Portugal and the UK, Iberdrola and bp intend to explore potential future opportunities for green hydrogen production in other geographies.
The objective is to finalize the constitution of the two joint ventures by the end of 2022, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.