The Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereuhighlighted the importance of the industrial enclave and “the great space of quality tourism” that Campo de Gibraltar represents, in the province of Cadiz, during a visit to Cepsa San Roque Energy Park where they presented the Andalusian Hydrogen Valley project, which includes the construction of two green hydrogen production plants in Palos de la Frontera (Huelva) and San Roque.
The minister assured that there was here “many important projects in the industrial transformation process undertaken by the government”showing himself delighted to “see on the ground” how “European funds are beginning to be used” to generate industrial projects in line with the major strategies of large industrial groups.
In a note, the ministry indicated that Cepsa officials showed the progress of the different projects they are working on with the aim of decarbonizing their activity, that of other industrial sectors and those related to transport and tourism.
For his part, Maarten Wetselaar, CEO of Cepsathanked the minister for his visit and “his interest” in promoting in Spain “new industrial projects that generate economic growth and quality jobs”, such as those currently being developed in Spain. Andalusia to facilitate the decarbonization of sectors such as transport and tourism.
“We are developing some of the largest projects in Europe to move forward in the energy transition“enabling both to strengthen Spain’s autonomy in terms of access to energy and to create a competitive industry that develops new value chains,” commented Wetselaar.
During this visit, Cepsa informed the minister of the progress of the development of the Green Valley of Andalusian Hydrogenwhich will be one of the largest green hydrogen production centres in Europe to decarbonise industry, aviation and heavy maritime and land transport, and make Spain a sustainable energy exporting country. This project will require an investment of 3 billion euros and the creation of 10,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs.
To produce this energy vector, Cepsa will use renewable electricity and wastewater to reduce fresh water consumption and promote the circular economy. In parallel, the company is building in the province of Huelva with Bio-Oils, the largest second-generation biofuel plant in southern Europe, with an associated investment of up to 1,200 million euros and a production capacity of 500,000 tonnes annual sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel to contribute to the decarbonisation of air, maritime and land transport.
The Energy Parks of San Roque and Palos de la Frontera, for their part, have increased its second-generation raw material co-processing capacity. At these facilities, the company already produces SAF, renewable diesel and sustainable marine fuels.
The Ministry of Industry and Tourism also announced that it had already opened the window from last Thursday until next September 26 to request aid for line 4 of the Industrial Decarbonization Loss, endowed with 140 million euros. The objective of this line is the development of new highly efficient and decarbonized manufacturing facilities.
Before visiting Cepsa facilities, Minister Hereu met with the mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, and with representatives of the Association of Large Industries of Campo de Gibraltar (AGI) to analyze the business situation in the region and learn about its investment plans.
The Minister conveyed to the representatives of the 15 AGI companies the Government’s support for the energy and digital transition of Spanish industry and, in this case, of the Gibraltar Field which is implemented through the Perte, and stressed the importance of the new industry law and strategic autonomy to support the competitiveness and reindustrialization of the country.
The future law contains fundamental instruments such as the Spanish Strategy for Industry and Strategic Autonomy or the strategic reserve based on national industrial production capacities.
Campo de Gibraltar is one of the most dynamic and important industrial centres in Spain, both in terms of job creation, investment and gross added value. These companies have invested more than 7.1 billion euros in the last 20 years and currently employ more than 18,000 people in the area.
