Spanish electric utility Iberdrola and global oil giant bp plan to jointly invest up to €1 billion to deploy about 11,000 fast charging points across Spain and Portugal by 2030. The companies also hope to develop “green hydrogen” production hubs in Spain, Portugal and the UK.

Iberdrola already operates more than 2,500 public chargers in the two Iberian nations, while bp operates a European network of over 10,000 charge points, mainly in the UK and Germany.

bp expects to use some of its network of 1,300 retail gas stations in Spain and Portugal as locations for charging hubs for the new joint venture.

“With this agreement, we continue advancing in the decarbonization and energy self-sufficiency through the electrification of two key sectors of our economy, transport and industry,” said Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galán. “The scale of this challenge requires alliances between companies such as Iberdrola and bp, which have the technology and knowledge necessary to help accelerate Europe’s industrial development.”

“Creating the lower-carbon energy solutions that our customers want and need requires the integration of different technologies, capabilities and forms of energy,” said bp CEO Bernard Looney. “We can deliver this faster and at scale when we work in partnership with others.”

Source: bp