European oil and gas multinational, Cepsa will develop a portfolio of 7 GW of solar and wind energy projects in Spain and Portugal, mostly for its own use out of which 1.5 GW is already grid connected, as it targets to reach net zero by 2050 and go beyond to become net positive as part of its Positive Motion 2030 Strategy.
Plans released include development of green hydrogen in the 2 European nations with a production capacity equivalent to 2 GW, and biofuels production of 2.5 million tons by 2030. It also wants to produce 0.8 million tons of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF).
The Spanish company says it will build the 'largest' e-mobility ecosystem in the 2 countries with Endesa and create an 'ultra-fast, on-the-go charging network' deploying a 150 kW charger every 200 km on key intercity corridors. Green hydrogen fueling stations will be built every 300 kms across all the main road transport corridors connecting Spain to Europe by 2030.
Management said it will position strategically located energy parks in Andalusia, Spain as 'European gateways' for hydrogen exports to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. These efforts will enable it to reduce its CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 55% from 2019 levels, and lower the carbon intensity of its products by between 15% to 20% in 2030 under Scope 3.
It will convert the company's traditional refineries into diversified and sustainable energy parks located next to major ports in Southern Europe targeting large industrial customer base.
"We will partner with our customers to develop decarbonization solutions for their energy needs, and of course address our own footprint as well," said the company's CEO Maarten Wetselaar.
Cepsa will achieve this transformation by structuring its business under 2 ecosystems of Sustainable Mobility & New Commerce and Sustainable Energy, with both 'fueled by its Energy Parks and alliances with strategic partners'.
The Spanish business group calculates an investment worth $7 to $8 billion by 2030 to achieve its plans, allocating more than 60% to sustainable businesses starting 2023.
Referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Wetselaar said, "The strategy we are presenting today is a long-term plan that reflects the historic opportunity that Spain and its energy companies have to become key players in promoting and producing clean energy."
With this strategic plan, Cepsa has joined the likes of global oil and gas companies as Shell, bp, Total among others to expand into renewable energy and now green hydrogen, due to a number of factors including decarbonization, declining costs of renewables, desire to be seen as a responsible organization and of course investor pressure to go/add green to the portfolio.
Recently Spanish petrochemicals firm Repsol also announced plans to go net zero by 2050 and increase renewable energy generation capacity to 20 GW by 2030 (see 20 GW Renewable Energy Capacity By 2030).