Repsol approves 400 million euro renewable hydrogen electrolyser in Tarragona

The investment

Repsol's board has approved an investment of about 400 million euros in a 150 MW renewable hydrogen electrolyser at its industrial complex in Tarragona, a project it is carrying out together with Enagás Renovable. The company announced the decision in a statement on Thursday, 12 November 2026. The electrolyser is designed to produce more than 22,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year, which will serve as feedstock for renewable methanol and other products with a low carbon footprint. According to several sources cited by El Confidencial, the final investment decision was taken in early November, after Repsol presented its third-quarter results. The approval came several months later than planned, since Repsol had placed the decision in the first half of 2026.

“The investment is strategic and reinforces Repsol's commitment to Tarragona and to the future of its industrial complex.”

Funding and partners

Enagás Renovable, a company formed by Hy24 (80%) and Enagás (20%), holds a 25% stake in the project. The electrolyser was selected for up to 104 million euros from the Valles de Hidrógeno programme, a state scheme run by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, financed by Next Generation EU funds. El Confidencial noted that the aid equals about 26% of the total investment and that payment depends on meeting the programme's requirements. In September 2025, the two companies approved an investment of more than 300 million euros for a 100 MW plant at Repsol's refinery in Cartagena. Together the two projects exceed 700 million euros.

Total investment400

Valles de Hidrógeno funding (up to)104

Total investment

400 million euros

Valles de Hidrógeno funding (up to)

104 million euros

Data from the article text

Link to the Ecoplanta

The hydrogen will mainly supply two Repsol sites, with one part going to the Tarragona refinery to make fuels with a lower carbon footprint. The remainder will feed the Ecoplanta under construction in El Morell, which is described as Spain's first circular methanol plant. The Ecoplanta is scheduled to start operating in 2029 and will convert non-recyclable urban waste into renewable methanol. Repsol calls the two projects strategic and complementary for the future of the complex. Repsol estimates that the new hydrogen production will avoid up to 250,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.

“The project represents a decisive step in the transformation of the industrial complex for its decarbonisation, circularity and digitalisation.”

Jobs and regional footprint

Repsol expects the project to create 1,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs during its different phases of development. Its complexes have capacity for about 360,000 tonnes a year of grey hydrogen, equal to 60% of national production and 4% of European consumption. The Tarragona electrolyser joins Repsol's two other large renewable hydrogen projects, one in Cartagena with Enagás Renovable and one at Petronor in Bilbao, which together lift the combined capacity of the three projects to 350 MW. The approval follows Repsol's third-quarter results, in a period when the company has recorded some of the largest profits in its history, according to El Confidencial. The announcement also comes against a backdrop of divestment and staff cuts in Tarragona's petrochemical industry.