Repsol and Enagás to develop renewable hydrogen technology

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Repsol and Enagás have signed an agreement to continue developing technology that allows for the production of renewable hydrogen (H₂).

This technology, which was originally developed by Repsol, will drive progress toward a medium-term objective for both companies: incorporating the gas obtained through this new low-carbon process into their respective businesses, in order to improve sustainability and efficiency.

Repsol CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, and Enagás CEO Marcelino Oreja signed the agreement in the presence of Repsol’s Corporate Director of Technology and New Ventures; Jaime Martín Juez; Repsol’s Corporate Director of Strategy, Control and Resources; Antonio Lorenzo; and Enagás’ Chief Transformation Officer, Antón Martínez.

This is the first time that Repsol has formed a technological partnership that integrates a partner into the company’s value chain. In collaboration with Enagás, the company will accelerate the deployment of a process whose initial phase was developed at the Repsol Technology Centre.

With this agreement, both companies will further the development of H₂production using solar energy as a primary source. This will reduce its carbon footprint by more than 90% compared with other conventional processes for obtaining this gas.

In the medium term, Repsol will be able to use the renewable H₂obtained through this new method in its refining processes, in order to produce cleaner fuels and reduce the presence of sulfur, as well as in its chemicals business, as part of conventional processes such as rubber hydrogenation.

Repsol has three registered patent families, two of which have already been granted in Europe, as a result of the prior development process. This represents one of the 52 scientific collaboration agreements the company has signed with the world’s top research centres and universities.

It is also the result of previous research on H₂, which a group of the company’s researchers have been carrying out since 2014 in collaboration with experts from the Catalonia Institute for Energy Research (IREC).

This project fits within the framework of Enagás’ development strategy for non-electrical renewable energy sources, such as H₂and biogas/biomethane. These new energy solutions have the potential to play a fundamental role in the energy transition process outlined by the European Union.