Inserts:

00:03 Report | Marcus Böhnisch
00:36 Sebastián Barceló Vidal | Plant Manager
01:32 Álvaro Sánchez López | Iberostar Head of Sustainability
02:12 Álvaro Sánchez López | Iberostar Head of Sustainability
02:47 Jorge Martín Jiménez | Balearic Ports Operations Manager
03:23 Sebastián Barceló Vidal | Plant Manager

Script:

0:01
Mallorca is known for nightlife, tourism and beaches.

0:06
But away from the coast, a different industry is taking shape. Next to this cement plant, renewable hydrogen is being produced. The first plans were drawn up in 2019, but the project only entered full operation last year. The plant has a capacity of 2.5 megawatts. Using water and solar power, it can produce up to 300 tons of hydrogen per year.

00:34
+++ SOT Sebastiá Barceló / Plant Manager, M1 SPA +++
We want to build the first complete hydrogen ecosystem in southern Europe on an island.
00:40

00:41
But this project isn't just about making hydrogen. It's also about finding out where hydrogen can actually be useful and what benefits it offers. One test case is Palma's public bus network. Five hydrogen buses have been operating here for over a year.

00:59
But the buses have been repeatedly been taken out of service due to other technical issues. Meanwhile, the operator has ordered new buses from another manufacturer. They're fully electric, and cheaper.

01:13
A second test site is a 200-bed Iberostar hotel. Its first hydrogen fuel cell recently went into operation here. The system produces both electricity and heat – something hotels need year-round, even in the summer.

01:29-01:51
+++ SOT Álvaro Sánchez /  Iberostar Head of Sustainability, M2 SPA +++
It powers everything guests see in their rooms: the lights, air conditioning, and so on. It covers about 20 percent of the hotel's energy needs. And because it's a combined heat and power system, it also produces heat. We use it to preheat the water that comes out of the tap in the guest rooms.

01:52
The fuel cell provides around 70 percent of the hotel's heating demand. A normal grid connection combined with a heat pump could do the same job. But Iberostar says the goal is to gain experience that could be useful at hotels in other parts of the world.

02:09
+++ SOT Álvaro Sánchez /  Iberostar Head of Sustainability, M2 SPA +++
The conditions and infrastructure there are very different. ... ((02:16)) Electricity isn't as cheap everywhere as it may be here in Spain.
02:21

02:22
So once again, it's a pilot project. And it's likely to remain Mallorca's only hydrogen-powered hotel.
02:30
The third example is the port of Palma. A hydrogen fuel cell is being installed here. It's main job will be supplying electricity to this ferry terminal, and eventually to ferries while they're docked here.

2:44
+++ SOT Jorge Martín / Balearic Ports Operations Manager, M3 SPA +++
To guarantee a megawatt from the grid around the clock, we'd need a much larger grid connection than we normally need. That's a costly and inefficient way to provide that capacity.
02:56

02:57
Over the coming months, the port authority will collect operating data and practical experience, just like the other organizations that are involved. And there's a fourth use for Mallorca's green hydrogen. Right now, this is where most of it is going – the island's gas network. 

03:18
+++ SOT Sebastiá Barceló / Plant Manager, M1 SPA +++
In terms of fuel costs, hydrogen is already on the same level as fossil fuels.
03:26

03:27 slow
Meanwhile, on mainland Spain, billions of euros are being invested in much larger hydrogen projects. The lessons learned in Mallorca are helping to shape them. But the hydrogen there will mostly be used differently – mainly in industry and refineries, including the production of cleaner aviation fuels. And one day, Mallorca's hydrogen could end up there as well.