Iberdrola is continuing to make strides with its strategy to lead the green hydrogen industry by signing the first loan granted by the Instituto de Credito Oficial (ICO) for this type of technology.
The six-million-euro loan will finance Spain's first-ever public green hydrogen station, which will be built and operated by Iberdrola to supply renewable hydrogen to the fleet of buses operated by Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB). The loan has a Second Party Opinion from G - Advisory.
This operation has been carried out within the framework of the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility initiative, where the ICO - in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda is acting as an accredited entity for channelling projects by Spanish companies that are boosting the ecological transition by increasing transport efficiency. Specifically, this project in Barcelona will receive this loan as well as a grant of EUR3.7 million.
With this backing from the ICO, Iberdrola is making progress with its project to build the first private hydrogen station in the country on a 5,000 m2 on the Barcelona's free trade area, promoting the creation of a green hydrogen hub in a major industrial area of Catalonia and Spain.
Iberdrola and TMB have entered into a ten-year agreement and the green hydrogen supply arrangement may be extended in the future to meet demand from other public and private fleets in the vicinity.
The financing agreement signed today is the fifth between Iberdrola and ICO to promote a carbon-free economy and reinforces their collaboration in the field of sustainable mobility, following the operation signed in 2020 for the installation of on-street charging points in Spain and Portugal.
ALLIANCES AND PROJECTS IN THE MAIN MARKETS WHERE IT OPERATES
Iberdrola is already a benchmark in green hydrogen as an alternative to electrification for certain industrial processes and heavy transport.
The company is already building Europe's largest green hydrogen plant in Puertollano (Ciudad Real), which will start the decarbonisation of the Fertiberia fertilisation manufacturing plant and it has joined forces with American company Cummins which will build one of the world's largest electrolyser plans in Castile-La Mancha.
In Spain, the company has entered into alliances to develop green projects with companies such as Fertiberia, Porcelanosa, bp and Enagas and Foresa, as well as other initiatives promoted in the main markets where it operates, including United Kingdom, Brazil and the United States. It has presented 53 green hydrogen-related projects to the Next Generation EU programme, which will activate investments of EUR2.5 billion to achieve an annual production of 60,000 tonnes.
THE ICO'S COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
ICO integrates sustainability as a horizontal principle of action in its various aspects: environmental, social and governance. As a state-owned investment bank, it pays particular attention to financing renewable energy projects, sustainable infrastructure including social, transport, logistics and ICT networks and facilities.
In 2020, it funded operations linked to sustainable development projects and plans that will help to streamline the economic recovery and stimulate the ecological and digital transition to the tune of EUR2.76 billion.
In addition, with the aim of adding value to business financing, it complements its activity with its role as Implementing Partner of the European Commission, channelling funds from EU initiatives to Spanish companies. In this field, as an accredited entity in the Connecting Europe Facility programme, it has contributed to nine alternative fuel projects of Spanish companies receiving European funds.
Contact:
Susana Sanjuan
Tel: +34 91 784 32 32
Email: comunicacioncorporativa@iberdrola.es
IBERDROLA, S.A. 
