Repsol to invest over €800M in the Tarragona Ecoplant, a pioneering project in Europe to produce renewable methanol

​​​​​​​Repsol will invest over €800 million in the Tarragona Ecoplant, a pioneering project in Europe to transform urban waste into renewable fuels and circular products. This will add a solution for reducing CO2 emissions in the transport sector while promoting the circular economy.

Located in Tarragona (Catalonia), this facility will become the first plant in Europe to produce renewable and circular methanol from waste through gasification, the world’s most advanced waste valorization process. This cutting-edge technology, developed by Enerkem - a technology company in which Repsol is a partner - gives a second life to waste that would otherwise end up in landfills or be incinerated.

The new plant will have the capacity to process up to 400,000 tons of municipal solid waste per year and turn it into 240,000 tons of renewable fuels and circular products. Renewable methanol originates from organic waste, while circular products come from non-organic waste, such as non-recyclable plastics.

The start-up of the plant, scheduled for 2029, will result in the creation of 340 direct, indirect, and induced jobs, as well as some 2,800 jobs during the construction phase. The Ecoplant will be integrated into Repsol's industrial complex in Tarragona, Southern Europe’s central chemical hub, to take advantage of existing infrastructures and accelerate the center's transformation into a multi-energy hub that will continue manufacturing products such as renewable fuels and circular materials.

According to the company’s release, this investment is a clear commitment by Repsol to maintain industrial employment in Spain and to continue generating wealth in the surrounding area.

The European Union selected Ecoplanta from among more than 300 projects to receive funding from the Innovation Fund program due to its high potential for reducing emissions, its innovative nature, and its uniqueness in Europe. According to the European Commission, Ecoplanta will reduce the equivalent of 3.4 million tons of CO2 in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the first ten years of operation.

A solution to decarbonize transport

The European Union has designed a pathway to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of energy used in maritime transport by 40% by 2030, from 2018 levels, and by 75% by 2050, compared to 2020 levels.

Renewable methanol will be used for road transport, as a raw material to produce renewable gasoline and diesel, and for producing sustainable aviation fuel. Additionally, methanol is very versatile in the chemical industry, with multiple uses in the automotive and construction industries and in applications in sectors as diverse as healthcare, food, and electronics.

Repsol has the ambition to lead the production of renewable fuels in Spain. It aims to produce between 1.5 and 1.7 million tons annually in 2027 and up to 2.7 million tons in 2030 (including renewable hydrogen and biomethane). The company also aims to manufacture up to 105,000 tons of circular products annually in 2027 and 200,000 tons by 2030.

Source: Repsol