The facility traditionally uses grey hydrogen for its manufacturing processes. However, the hydrogen production plant, which was built in collaboration with Iberdrola, will produce up to 100 tonnes of clean hydrogen per year to replace these volumes.
Powered by solar panels and on-site electrolysis, IFF’s Benicarló clean hydrogen facility produces, compresses, and stores clean hydrogen for use in hydrogenation reactions.
The process supports the creation of more than 50 key IFF ingredients, including Cashmeran and Kharismal.
IFF added that clean hydrogen reduces CO2 emissions by 2,000 tonnes annually, helping the firm move towards its climate goals, which include cutting emissions in half by 2030 and reaching Net Zero by 2040.
The new production facility is part of a 10-year renewable hydrogen energy agreement with Iberdrola.
IFF aims to use the fragrance manufacturing industry’s first integrated green hydrogen plant as a blueprint for innovation across its manufacturing network.
Jaime Gomezflores, Senior Vice President of Global Operations Manufacturing for IFF Scent, said it’s “the first step to providing technology and expanding the production to reduce operational emissions in the future.”
The chemicals sector is widely recognised as a no-regrets use case for clean hydrogen, already accounting for about 13% of global hydrogen consumption
According to the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), clean hydrogen could supply up to 40% of the industry’s energy needs by 2050.
Clean hydrogen in chemicals: no-regrets, but no guarantees
Analysis by RMI suggests replacing natural gas with clean hydrogen or electrification for industrial heat could cut sector emissions by up to 28%.
“[Hydrogen] is already being widely used in the chemicals industry and therefore has more opportunity to expand its role in emissions reduction,” RMI explained.
“For chemicals where hydrogen is a key reagent, swapping off-site grey hydrogen for cleaner hydrogen can reduce emissions without any on-site modifications or capital expenditure.”
And earlier this year, BASF showed what that future could look like when it started up a 54MW Siemens Energy electrolyser at its Ludwigshafen facility in Germany. The installation is displacing up to 8,000 tonnes of grey hydrogen across the chemicals complex, reducing CO2 emissions by around 72,000 tonnes per year.
However, clean hydrogen’s role is less clear-cut, with cost challenges set to heavily influence decarbonisation decisions.
Continue reading here.