Mario Ruiz-Tagle, Iberdrola España’s CEO, assures that pumping and green hydrogen are key to the energy transition and their development is an industrial opportunity in Spain
- Iberdrola España’s CEO defended that "industrial decarbonisation is already a reality" and advanced that the next step must be to electrify the air conditioning and manufacturing processes "to gain in competitiveness and attract industry". To do this, he called for a "stable and predictable regulatory framework that provides confidence, speeds up procedures and favours the creation of quality employment".
"It is important to explain to society that pumped storage and green hydrogen are key to greater integration of renewable energy sources, with networks as the backbone of the energy transition. Their development represents a great industrial opportunity for Spain, enabling the creation of hundreds of thousands of quality jobs and improving the competitiveness of companies". Iberdrola España’s CEO, Mario Ruiz-Tagle, made this statement this Friday (26/5) in Pamplona during his speech "A vision of the future of energy: in particular, energy transition and industrial competitiveness".
This presentation was given at a joint meeting of the CEO and Finance Clubs of the Public University of Navarre (UPNA) promoted by its Social Council. This activity, in this regard, is part of the numerous initiatives that the aforementioned collegial body of participation in the government and administration of the University carries out throughout the year. The main purpose of all of them is to generate meeting spaces that can bring the economic and business spheres closer to the university and scientific spheres.
On this occasion, around fifty managers and businessmen and women from the region attended the event. Before this audience, Mario Ruiz-Tagle defended that "industrial decarbonisation is already a reality" and advanced that the next step must be to electrify the air conditioning (cooling and heating) and manufacturing processes "to gain in competitiveness and attract industry". "The energy transition is key to moving towards a more energy independent country with more reliable and secure sources, more industrialised and competitive," he added.
Indeed, Iberdrola España’s CEO considered that this process of changing the energy model is being implemented properly because "technological progress is allowing for more renewables, more grids and more storage". For this reason, he insisted that "electrifying the majority of end uses of energy in a competitive manner is the way to achieve the net zero emissions scenario that Europe is asking us to achieve".
PUMPING AND GREEN HYDROGEN, KEY TECHNOLOGIES
In order to achieve this ultimate goal of neutrality, Ruiz-Tagle placed special emphasis on "the opportunities and benefits" that the implementation of pumped-storage technologies and green hydrogen could represent for Spain. Of the former, he recalled that it is the most efficient formula for storing renewable energy and that our country, "using existing reservoirs, has an enormous potential of up to 10 new gigawatts". On this point, the head of Iberdrola pointed out that the use of hydroelectric facilities as power plants "provides security of supply, flexibility and firmness regardless of whether or not there may be a drought". "We are creating new jobs, technology, industry and a business model that Spain is familiar with, which in Europe is exploited very little and which represents one of those opportunities that we cannot let slip through our fingers," he said.
On the other hand, with regard to green hydrogen, Mario Ruiz-Tagle recalled that his company already has two plants in operation in Spain and that "it can help to decarbonise what cannot be electrified".
However, this scenario of growth and development will only be possible, in the opinion of Iberdrola España’s CEO, if a "stable and predictable regulatory framework is developed that provides confidence, speeds up procedures, recognises necessary investments and favours the creation of quality employment".
IBEDROLA AND NAVARRE
Ruiz-Tagle dedicated the last part of his speech at the UPNA's CEO and Financial Clubs meeting to praising the "historic relationship" that his company has with the region. "Iberdrola is one of the driving forces behind the economy of Navarre," he said, going on to highlight that it employs 120 people directly and that its economic impact in the region exceeded "€300 million " in 2022.