Energy giants bp and Iberdrola announced today plans for a new strategic collaboration targeting decarbonization opportunities for the industrial and transportation sectors through the development of fast EV charging infrastructure and green hydrogen production hubs.

Bernard Looney, CEO, bp, said:

 “Creating the lower carbon energy solutions that our customers want and need requires the integration of different technologies, capabilities and forms of energy. We can deliver this faster and at scale when we work in partnership with others. We have enormous respect for Iberdrola who have been an early leader in the energy transition – and are very excited about what we can deliver together.”

Under the new partnership, the two companies plan to form a joint venture that aims to invest up to €1 billion to build out a network of rapid and ultra-fast EV public charge points across Spain and Portugal. The plan includes the installation of an initial 5,000 charge points by 2025 and up to a total of 11,000 by 2030.

The two businesses also intend to create another joint venture to scale integrated green hydrogen production in Spain, Portugal, and the UK, as well as the production of derivatives such as green ammonia and methanol. Together, they aim to develop advantaged hydrogen production hubs in Spain, Portugal, and the UK with a total capacity of up to 60ktpa, integrated with new renewable power.

The green hydrogen project at bp’s Castellón refinery will be part of the agreement along with Iberdrola’s industrial hydrogen projects under development, as well as new projects. The two companies stated that they also intend to explore potential future opportunities for green hydrogen in other geographies.

Iberdrola has significantly ramped its focus on energy transition initiatives and renewable energy development over the past few years. In 2020, the company unveiled a $75 billion capital plan including massive investments in renewable energy, and plans to nearly double its renewables capacity by 2025, and launched a green hydrogen-focused business unit.

Increasing hydrogen and renewables capacity also forms a major part of bp’s long-term strategy to transform itself from an international oil company into an integrated energy company. In February, bp announced that it plans to increase the proportion of its total capex in ‘transition growth businesses,’ such as bioenergy, convenience, electric vehicle (EV) charging, renewables and hydrogen to more than 40% by 2025 and around 50% by 2030.

Ignacio Galán, The Chairman of Iberdrola, said:

“With BP, we intend to help advance in the decarbonization and energy self-sufficiency through the electrification of two key sectors of our economy, transport and industry. 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.”