Spanish engineering firm Acciona and German renewable energy technology company Nordex are to jointly develop 50 GW of renewable power to produce 500,000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year over the next ten years, according to Acciona’s press release.

Acciona, together with Acciona Energía, will own 50% of the joint venture, while Nordex will own the other half, supplying the electrolyser technology and wind turbines. The German company has for the last year been working on the development of “a new prototype of a pressurised alkaline electrolyser adapted to the variable operation of renewable sources”, a project recognised as an Important Project of Common European Interest, at its plant in Barasoain, Navarra, north-eastern Spain.

The technology is at “an advanced R&D&I stage”.  Interestingly, the joint venture will target areas which have “abundant wind resources” that are not connected to conventional grids, and has already secured eight sites across the USA, Africa and Latin America. The minimum sized project will be 1 GW of renewable energy capacity, but no projects will take place in Spain or Portugal for existing contractual reasons.

A 2027 timeframe for the first project being ready to build has been set.