Iberostar bets on green hydrogen for its hotels

Hydrogen to fry a fried egg? It is not haute cuisine, nor is it a new technique of the great chefs with several Michelin stars. This colorless gas is one of the aces up the industry’s sleeve to decarbonise the economy, “it is the future”, highlights Álvaro Sánchez, climate change manager of the Iberostar Group.

With more than 1,000 million of public investment, Spain does not want to miss the opportunity to join this new green revolution. There are already numerous projects distributed throughout the national territory, but Mallorca has been the first to ‘connect’ to this energy.

Since the beginning of 2022, Lloseta, a municipality located in the north of the island, has already been part of the energy history of Spain. At the end of last year, the ‘Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca’ project produced the first green hydrogen molecules. Now, it works in tests, but it is already capable of providing energy to transport and also to some Balearic buildings.

The plans of this consortium, promoted by Acciona, Enagás, Cemex, Redexis, the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), the Government of the Balearic Islands “and of which we are also a part”, adds the Climate Change Manager of Iberostar Group, go through the production of 300 tons of green hydrogen generated by photovoltaic energy. “We calculate that between October and November the hydrogen will arrive at our hotel,” says Sánchez.

This energy vector will reach the kitchens of one of the 16 establishments that the Balearic brand has in Mallorca through a hydroduct, a channel through which the hydrogen will circulate. “This is one of the projects that we have underway with the consortium,” explains the person in charge of Iberostar.

Through this Redexis ‘pipe’, the hydrogen molecules will be mixed with natural gas. “At the moment, the mix is ​​small.” A “small grain of sand”, but “the idea is to add more solar generation to electrolyze more water (separation of oxygen and hydrogen)”.

This new Majorcan hydrogen will not only make it possible to heat an ‘arrós brut’, a typical soupy rice from the island, in the kitchens of this hotel, but it will also allow tourists and clients to take a relaxing hot shower. “We are going to achieve this with a fuel cell,” explains Sánchez.

Within the project, the ‘Power to Green Hydrogen Mallorca’ will distribute three of these devices and one of them will arrive at Iberostar’s Bahía Palma. “This will allow us to convert hydrogen into heat and into electricity,” he says. “The estimates are 150 kW, not insignificant.”

“Strong goal”

Of the nearly 300 tons per year, between 5 and 10 tons will go to Iberostar hotels to “decarbonize the company’s activity,” he highlights. “We have a very ambitious goal,” he adds.

Its roadmap is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, but “I have two major goals,” warns Álvaro Sánchez. The first of them, he reveals, is to reduce the emissions produced by energy consumption by 85%, “we all know how to interpret percentages, right?” He replies with a laugh. “It’s very ambitious.” The other is a consumption saving of 35%.

The ingredients to comply with this recipe go through “consuming less”, warns Sánchez. “Consume less electricity, less natural gas, less diesel and less propane,” she adds.

A challenge that has hydrogen as an ally. “Hotels are not like factories and it is not standardized, each one is a world,” he reveals. At the moment, the electricity that supplies establishments of the Balearic brand in Spanish territory is of renewable origin. “Either we produce it ourselves or we pay an extra cost to our suppliers so that its origin is renewable,” Sánchez points out.

However, the energy mix is ​​not entirely green, “between a quarter or fifth of consumption is fossil fuel.” However, “we are below the industry average,” he replies.

In addition, its roadmap focuses on being ‘zero waste’ and 100% responsible in its seafood supply chain by 2025 and carbon neutral by 2030.