Repsol S.A. (Madrid, Spain) has acquired a minority stake in the Canadian company Enerkem (Montréal, Québec, Canada), a technological world leader in the production of renewable fuels and chemical products through gasification of non-recyclable waste. This investment allows the Spanish multi-energy company to step up the development of decarbonization projects through the deployment of Enerkem’s technology in its existing industrial facilities and future plants.
Repsol has subscribed €54 million to Enerkem’s share capital. It will contribute an additional €68 million through the subscription of convertible notes which could allow Repsol to increase its stake in accordance with a number of financial variables over the coming years. This makes Repsol a strategic shareholder in the company to accelerate the adoption and deployment of Enerkem’s technology and to develop new industrial projects in Spain and other locations.
The Spanish multi-energy company is already partnering with Enerkem and Agbar to build the Ecoplanta Molecular Solutions waste recovery plant in El Morell (Tarragona), Spain, scheduled to be operational in 2026. Using Enerkem’s gasification technology, the plant will have the capacity to process some 400,000 tons of non-recyclable solid waste per year to produce 240,000 tons of methanol that can be used for low-carbon fuels and chemicals and recover 70% of the carbon present in the non-recyclable materials. Based on the European Commission’s Innovation Fund methodology, the project will achieve 3.4 Mt CO2eq of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions over the first ten years of operation. Thus, the Ecoplanta project is aligned with the EU’s decarbonization and climate change mitigation goals.
Among more than 300 projects submitted by major European industrial groups, Ecoplanta Molecular Solutions is one of seven projects selected for financial support from the European Commission’s Innovation Fund for large scale projects. The final grant agreement was signed at an event in Brussels last week.