Spanish oil and gas firm Repsol has for the first time produced low-carbon hydrogen using biomethane as a raw material at its refinery in Cartagena.

The same steam methane reforming (SMR) technology used to produce grey hydrogen from natural gas can use biomethane as a natural gas substitute to provide a lower-carbon source of hydrogen.

Repsol has replaced natural gas in its industrial processes with biomethane obtained from municipal solid waste. So far, the company has produced 10t of hydrogen from 500MWh of biomethane.

“The production of renewable hydrogen in this way is further evidence of the transformation of Repsol's industrial complexes into multi-energy poles capable of manufacturing decarbonised products and of the company's commitment to reach zero net emissions by 2050,” the firm says.

Repsol is the leading producer and consumer of hydrogen in Spain and uses the gas regularly as a raw material in its industrial processes.

10t – Amount of hydrogen produced by Repsol using biomethane

 The company is advancing a number of low-carbon hydrogen projects, including the Basque Hydrogen Corridor, the Hydrogen Valley of Catalonia, a hydrogen cluster in Castilla-La Mancha and the Renewable Hydrogen Pole in Cartagena.

In late September, Repsol announced it will begin operating its first green hydrogen electrolyser—with a capacity of 2.5MW—at its Petronor refinery in the Basque Country in 2022. 

A 10MW green hydrogen electrolyser is scheduled to start operations in the same region in 2024, serving a synthetic fuel plant that the company plans to build in a joint venture with Saudi Aramco. 

In addition, Repsol plans to build a further two 100MW electrolysers to serve the industrial complexes around the Petronor and Cartagena refineries.

California and Germany both operate guarantee of origin schemes for hydrogen obtained from SMR using biomethane.

The Spanish government approved a roadmap in October 2020 that would see it invest €1.50bn ($1.74bn) in green hydrogen projects and enact other regulatory measures, with the goal of installing 4GW of electrolysers by 2030. The plan sets a target for green hydrogen to contribute a minimum of 25pc of all hydrogen consumed by 2030.

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Author: Tom Young