BP has taken FID on the deployment of an initial 25MW of electrolyser capacity at its Castellon refining complex in the Valencia region of Spain.

The capacity forms part of the HyVal green hydrogen cluster, which the oil major is developing together with Spanish energy firm Iberdrola. The project could ultimately be scaled up to 2GW at a cost of €2b ($2.16b), according to plans set out by BP last year.

“We are taking our first FID to develop and produce industrial scale green hydrogen at our Castellon refinery,” BP CEO Murray Auchincloss said in the oil major’s latest quarterly earnings presentation.

Plans unveiled in February 2023 called for a first phase of 200MW to be deployed by 2027, with an initial output of 31,200t/yr of green hydrogen to be used to replace natural gas in the refining process and as a feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

In the second phase, which could be completed in 2030, the electrolysis plant would be expanded to reach a capacity of up to 2GW. The hydrogen could support both regional and national demand, as well as positioning the Valencia region to export green hydrogen to the rest of Europe through the Mediterranean, BP said. The company expects to give an update on the project in September, a spokesperson said.

Lingen

Separately, BP expects to take FID on a 100MW green hydrogen project adjacent to its Lingen refinery in the Lower Saxony region of Germany by the end of the year, Auchincloss said. The project recently secured public funding under the EU’s Important Project of Common European Interest programme.

“Both projects meet our investment hurdles and help us create SAF and green hydrogen for customers while we decarbonise our assets,” said Auchincloss.