Grupo Fertiberia takes a decisive step in its strategy to reduce its emissions to zero by 2035 and will be the first major company in the plant nutrition sector to manufacture CO2-free ammonia and plant nutrition solutions on an industrial scale in the world
- The Iberdrola plant will produce up to 3,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen per year and will supply the company's factory in this location.
- The project is part of Fertiberia's Net Zero strategy to become the first carbon neutral company in its sector by 2035 and has been promoted in collaboration with Iberdrola.
- This project is supported by Grupo Fertiberia's owner, the European investment firm Triton, which has a strong ESG approach and extensive experience in working with and transforming industrial companies.
King Felipe VI today inaugurated the project that has been developed at the Puertollano industrial complex in alliance with Iberdrola, which has built the largest green hydrogen plant for industrial use in Europe, enabling Grupo Fertiberia to replace the use of natural gas with green hydrogen in its ammonia production.
The event was attended by the CEO of Grupo Fertiberia, Javier Goñi; the Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Sánchez Galán; the Government representative in Castilla-La Mancha, Francisco Tierraseca; the Mayor of Puertollano, Adolfo Muñiz; the Secretary of State for Territorial Policy and Public Function, Alfredo González; the Regional Minister of Economy, Business and Employment of Castilla-La Mancha, Patricia Franco; the Regional Minister of Sustainable Development of Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Escudero; the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Fertiberia, Romeo Kreinberg, and the Investment Professional of Triton, Roland Oelschläger.
"The milestone we have achieved today at our Puertollano plant makes us the first company in the world to manufacture green ammonia and CO2-free plant nutrition solutions on an industrial scale. This is a unique project in the sector due to its magnitude. This initiative is part of our Net Zero strategy which, thanks to the support of our owner Triton, will make us the first major European company in our sector to reduce emissions to zero by 2035," said Javier Goñi, CEO of Grupo Fertiberia. He added that "the investment in Puertollano is also the first step towards pioneering the green ammonia market in Europe."
Green ammonia is obtained by replacing natural gas with renewable electrical energy and is the basis for producing fertilisers with no carbon footprint. It is also used in other environmental solutions to reduce emissions in industry, such as AdBlue for diesel combustion engines. Grupo Fertiberia collaborates with the main green hydrogen consortia for its four large industrial sites in Spain and is leading the future construction of a new plant in Norrbotten (Sweden).
"Today marks an important step in the history of Grupo Fertiberia and we congratulate the team on this success. We look forward to continuing to support the management team and the entire workforce on their journey to become Europe's leading sustainable fertiliser company, with a strong and robust social, environmental and governance commitment," says Roland Oelschläger, Investment Professional at Triton.
Triton invested in Grupo Fertiberia in 2020 to support management's strategy of accelerating product innovation and investing in the company's manufacturing processes to make them more efficient and environmentally friendly.
Iberdrola has developed a plant that will be capable of generating 100% green hydrogen through one of the largest electrolysis systems in the world. The project will have zero CO2 emissions thanks to the use of renewable energy from an innovative 100 MW solar photovoltaic plant integrated into the facility. The green hydrogen produced at the Iberdrola plant will be used in Grupo Fertiberia's ammonia factory in Puertollano, which has carried out significant innovation work to adapt its processes to this new energy vector.
David Herrero, industrial director of Grupo Fertiberia, said at the presentation of the plant that the company "is making progress in the decarbonisation of an essential sector such as agriculture.”
According to the International Energy Agency, the demand for fertilisers is expected to grow by 40% by 2050 to meet the needs of a growing population. "The world will need more production, which must be compatible with meeting emission reduction targets, so our company is preparing to respond to the future needs of the European agricultural market," Herrero said.
In addition to producing an essential input for a strategic sector such as agriculture, "we are replacing natural gas in its manufacture with indigenous resources, which helps to advance food security and energy independence in the EU,” he concluded.
