Endesa plans a plant in Andorra that will generate 2,263 tons of hydrogen per year

The construction of a green hydrogen plant in Andorra by Endesa is moving forward steadily. The Aragonese Institute of Environmental Management (INAGA) has announced that the project, developed by Enel Green Power (EGPE), is now subject to public information for one month and is awaiting possible objections. 

Included in the support plan for the Just Transition project, it seeks to boost the economic fabric of Andorra after the closure of the thermal power plant in 2020. As reported by the electricity giant, it has an estimated execution budget of 47 million euros (47,061,409 euros, specifically) and will occupy 2.36 hectares of land belonging to the old Andorran power plant. 

The project called ‘ Andorra Green Hydrogen Generation Plant ‘ is included in the guidelines of the Just Transition renewable project that EGPE is developing as a contractor. Technically, it consists of a green hydrogen (H2) generation plant from the electrolysis of water, a process that allows water to be broken down into its basic components , hydrogen and oxygen. 

The factory will be powered by electricity from a wind farm and a photovoltaic plant, and the supply will reach the base through an underground line that will run through the municipalities of Alcorisa, Alcañiz and Andorra . In addition, the process of extracting hydrogen from water will be carried out by means of a 15-megawatt modular electrolyser. Once obtained, the material will be stored and distributed by means of trailers.

2,263 TONS PER YEAR

The factory is designed to achieve a production of 2,263 tons of green hydrogen per year , stopping only 15 days per year for maintenance. It is important to note that the electrical connection itself will be through the renewable parks of the Nudo Mudéjar 400kv that will be carried out in the Alcor electrical collector substation (SEC) that EGPE is developing as part of the competition. The SEC will be located in Alcorisa. 

The parks preferably associated with the green energy plant will be the Alcor wind farm (with an installed capacity of 111.6 megawatts) connected to the Alcor SEC and the Calanda photovoltaic park (with an installed capacity of 49.93 MW). In any case, given the interconnection of all the renewable parks in the node with each other, the Green Hydrogen Plant will be able to consume the electricity generated by any of the EGPE renewable parks connected to the 400 kV Mudéjar Node.

INDEPENDENT OF THE ‘CATALINA PROJECT’

It is worth noting that this initiative is independent of the Catalina Project, which is run by the Danish company Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) together with Enagás Renovable, Naturgy and Fertiberia. In this case, this megaproject will supply green fuel to the industry on the Mediterranean coast through a 221-kilometre pipeline running through dozens of municipalities. To make all this a reality in the near future, a factory will also be created in the PEAN (Andorra Business Park).

Catalina, through a hydrogen plant and renewable parks, will generate around 1,204 direct jobs during its construction, scheduled between March 2025 and December 2027 with an investment of 1,847 million euros. The Government of Aragon already approved the PIGA (Project of General Interest in Aragon) in November.