PRESS RELEASE: The H2OP project electrolyzer already supplies renewable hydrogen to Viscofan

The H2OP project electrolyzer already supplies renewable hydrogen to Viscofan

The production of green hydrogen has successfully begun at the Viscofan facilities in Cáseda (Navarra, Spain), a pioneering initiative in the energy transition of the Navarrese industry that is part of the H2OP project developed by the consortium formed by Viscofan, Nordex Electrolyzers, AIN and the startup URAPHEX. It is also aligned with the Government of Navarra’s commitment to green hydrogen as a strategic energy vector for decarbonization and industrial competitiveness.

Thanks to the joint work of the four entities, both the 500 kW electrolyzer, designed, manufactured and assembled entirely in Spain by Nordex Electrolyzers, and the water treatment and recovery plant have been installed and commissioned, carrying out the integration with the boiler in a record time of 2 months.

This technology allows Viscofan to continuously produce the amount of 100 Nm3/h of hydrogen, reducing the  CO2 emission into the atmosphere by 480,000 kg/year.

Íñigo Martínez, CEO of Viscofan Spain, points out that “the joint work in this pioneering initiative has made possible the production of green hydrogen in our facilities for use in boilers. A milestone that undoubtedly contributes to the future development of this sustainable energy vector in the industry and places Navarra as a benchmark for energy innovation and circularity.”

For his part, Luis Solla, CEO of Nordex Electrolyzers, adds: “We are very satisfied with the fast integration of the electrolyzer to the boiler feeding system, and the great coordination between the different actors in the project. Above all, we are proud to be part of an initiative like H2OP, a specific step towards the decarbonization of the industry through green hydrogen.”

In the words of the Regional Minister for Industry and for the Ecological and Digital Business Transition of the Government of Navarre, Mikel Irujo Amezaga, and also president of the public company SODENA:
“This project represents a key industrial commitment for both our industry and the region. It is a pioneering initiative that marks a turning point for us. Navarre is once again stepping to the forefront in advancing energy sovereignty and decarbonization. In short, it is a milestone for our community, for the State, and for Europe.”

Along these lines, Regional Minister Irujo also highlighted that “to make this strategic initiative a reality, the project has received financial support from Sodena as a shareholder of Nordex Electrolyzers.”

Javier López, CEO of URAPHEX, highlights that “the launch of green hydrogen production at the Cáseda plant is a milestone that demonstrates the value of collaboration.” “URAPHEX is proud to have worked alongside companies of the caliber of Viscofan and Nordex Electrolyzers in a project that promotes the real deployment of green hydrogen in the industry. Our water management and circularity technology optimizes its use and recovery, reinforcing the sustainability of the process. Navarra thus once again demonstrates its ability to lead energy innovation,” he adds.

From AIN, Ana Ursúa, general director of the association, emphasizes that “in Navarra we have a solid industrial ecosystem with real capacity to lead the transition towards clean energies. The commissioning of this electrolyzer, developed by Nordex in Viscofan with the participation of Uraphex, demonstrates that collaboration between companies, technology centers and administration is key to accelerating decarbonization. At AIN we are proud to contribute to a project that marks a before and after in the adoption of green hydrogen by part of the industry.”

It should be remembered that the H2OP project is part of the 2024-2027 call for aid for strategic R&D projects of the Department of Industry and Ecological and Business Digital Transition of the Government of Navarra, within Challenge 2 AERO VIII, focused on the green energy industry. The project has funding of €838,428.98, provided by the Government of Navarra and the European Regional Development Fund.

Furthermore, the result achieved consolidates Navarra as a benchmark in energy innovation, demonstrating the existing potential of public-private collaboration to move towards a more sustainable industry.

About Viscofan

Viscofan has been facilitating access to food for millions of homes around the world for 50 years through its casings, with its own technological development and a notable global presence that allows it to distribute its products to more than 100 countries on all continents.

In addition to casings, a sector in which it is a world leader, Viscofan also develops solutions and products in other areas related to access to nutrition and wellbeing: tubular plastics, packaging and third parties, new edible casings, functional solutions and nutra-medical-pharma products, in addition to diversification activity, where Viscofan wants to leverage on Know-how as a catalyst for innovations to expand into new markets with attractive growth trends in the field of food, wellbeing and health.

About Nordex Electrolyzers

Nordex Electrolyzers, designs, manufactures, installs and operates pressurized alkaline electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen. With headquarters in Navarra and Puertollano and with a highly specialized staff, it has developed and validated 50kW and 500kW prototypes. This 2025, the NX2500 has been launched on the market, the first MW scale electrolyzer (2.5MW) entirely designed and manufactured in Spain.

Nordex Electrolyzers seeks to contribute to a sustainable future through the transition to green energy. Nordex Electrolyzers is a joint venture founded in 2022 between Sodena, a public company of the Government of Navarra, and Nordex Group.

About URAPHEX

URAPHEX, a Navarra startup focused on the design, manufacture and installation of technology for the sustainable regeneration of water used in industrial processes. URAPHEX’s own and patented technology allows to save up to 90% of water in processes that are so common and transversal in the industrial environment such as refrigeration, washing and sterilization, all of this, completely eliminating the need to use chemical products.

Thus, URAPHEX equipment is capable of treating flows of up to 30 m³/h. To date, they have managed to save their clients more than 1M m³ of water and avoid the use of more than 700 Tm of chemicals, contributing significantly to environmental sustainability and circularity in a profitable way.

Currently, URAPHEX is developing new solutions for application in other sectors such as the chemical industry, steel and textiles, among others.

About AIN

AIN is a private Technology Center with 3 areas of knowledge: “Surface Technology and Advanced Materials”, “Digital Technologies” and “Energy and Sustainability”, the latter integrated into the Engineering area; in addition to other areas such as consulting, training and personnel selection.

AIN’s activity in the Energy area focuses on supporting the industry in the search for optimal energy solutions through efficiency, generation and self-consumption of electricity and decarbonization of industrial processes, recently highlighting the adaptation to new energy sources such as the use of hydrogen, biogas, biomass and the electrification of processes, measuring the reduction of environmental impact through Life Cycle Analysis and carbon footprint calculation.

500kW electrolyzer installed at the Viscofan plant in Cáseda (Navarra, Spain)