Tubacex, moving forward with the project to produce green hydrogen from municipal solid waste from Vitoria.

The Llodio-based company, in collaboration with two other companies from Alava, Novargi and Iet Ecology, is working in the Hyvalue Gasteiz project, within the BH2C, to obtain green hydrogen from solid urban waste generated in the capital, a large part of which currently ends up in municipal landfill.

Work for the future plant for waste recovery from solid urban waste sorting plants is progressing well, with the relevant documentation now in the hands of GILSA - the municipal company set up to promote industrial initiatives and investment - and with a date: 2024.

The three companies behind the project expect the first phase of the initiative to be launched next year - most likely in the second half of the year. The initiative, which will require some 14 million euros of investment by the partners in its first phase, already has the backing of the European Commission, which has provided almost 4.5 million euros in funding for the hydrogen plant.

Sources close to the project report that a site is being sought for the plant, and that the Júndiz Industrial Estate is the preferred location.

In the first phase, 14 jobs are expected to be created. This would be followed by a second phase in which an investment of 30 million euros would be required to enlarge the hydrogen production area, with a view to absorbing up to 40,000 tonnes of waste and creating a further 24 direct jobs.

Operating costs during the first phase of the project would amount to around 3.3 million euros per year. The promoters are working on estimates of abating 8.85 kilos of CO2 emissions for every kilo of hydrogen produced, and a total of 130,000 tonnes in the first ten years.