BP PLC (LSE:BP.) has agreed to jointly invest up to €1bn in fast-charging electric vehicle points in Spain and Portugal
Through a tie-up with Spanish utility Iberdrola, the British energy company also intends to scale up production of green hydrogen, to 600 kilo-tonnes per annum, with integrated with renewable power generation. “With BP,
"We intend to help advance in the decarbonisation and energy self-sufficiency through the electrification of two key sectors of our economy, transport and industry," said Ignacio Galán, Iberdrola chair.
“The scale of this challenge requires alliances between companies such as Iberdrola and bp, which have the technology and knowledge necessary to help accelerate Europe's industrial development and generate, at the same time, well-being and new opportunities for all through clean energy."
The companies will roll out a network of up to 11,000 rapid and ultra-fast electric vehicle charge points in Europe by 2030.
The charging hubs will be installed across BP’s 1,300 retail sites in Spain and Portugal, and also plan to look at options to serve electric vehicle drivers in the UK too.
It adds to the pair's existing EV charging infrastructure which includes an Iberdrola app that can direct 34mln customers to one of their 100,000 recharging points across Europe, BP meanwhile, operates a network of more than 10,000 charge points in Germany and the UK.
They are the latest companies to expand green hydrogen production, after Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced two investments in the technology earlier this month.
The online retail giant said it had invested in two developers of electrolysers that make hydrogen from water and renewable electricity from its US$2bn Climate Pledge Fund, Electric Hyrogen and Sunfire.
While more than 95% of hydrogen is made from fossil fuels, mainly natural gas, BP, Iberdrola and Amazon’s investees are proposing to make it from renewable electricity.
BP and Iberdrola plan to produce green hydrogen in Spain, Portugal and the UK, and will produce derivatives such as green ammonia and methanol that could be exported to northern Europe.
BP’s Castellón refinery, which has been submitted to the Spanish government's hydrogen value chain call, will be part of the joint venture.
The companies said they also intend to explore “potential future opportunities for green hydrogen production in other geographies.”