The Government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, is interested in the projects that Norvento is working in and developing with the support and financing by the Government

• Accompanied by Lara Méndez, Mayoress of Lugo, and other authorities, the government representative visited the facilities of the Norvento Enerxía Innovation Centre -CIne- in Lugo.

• Pablo Fernández Castro, president of the company, has presented to Pedro Blanco the innovative project “Fábrica Norvento Enerxía Cero”, where the company will invest more than 50 million euros, and that will be presented as a candidate for the next PERTE decarbonisation.

• During the meeting, both highlighted the different R&D&I initiatives in which Norvento is participating,supported by the Government, such as the Zeppelin project, which is now up and running.

The Government Delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco Lobeiras, accompanied by the mayoress of Lugo, Lara Méndez López, and other institutional representatives, visited this morning the corporate headquarters of Norvento Enerxía in Lugo, where he was able to see first-hand several of the projects that the Galician energy company is working on, with Pablo Fernández Castro and Marta Fernández Castro, President and Vice-president of the company.

After a tour around the facilities of CIne, Norvento’s zero energy headquarters, the attendees held a brief meeting in which Pablo Fernández Castro explained the key points of the project for the new factory that the company is developing in the As Gándaras Business Park in Lugo, in the vicinity of its headquarters, and whose construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024..

“Fábrica Norvento Enerxía Cero”, as Norvento’s new production centre will be called, is an ambitious project that responds to the company’s objective of boosting Spain’s technological independence in the field of renewable energies. Specifically, this initiative will be aimed at the production of a whole range of high added value products designed by the company, such as medium-power wind turbines and containerised electric storage solutions with batteries, among other innovative solutions, focused on boosting the decarbonization of the industry.

Candidate for PERTE decarbonization

Likewise, the President of Norvento has also informed the Government Delegate of the estimated investments that the Fábrica Norvento Enerxía Cero project will involve, more than 50 million euros. In this sense, Pablo Fernández Castro expressed his desire to present the project to a new call for PERTE decarbonization funds promoted by the Government, as it is an initiative with a great technological and industrial projection, focused on innovation, and that will consolidate multiple quality jobs, -it is estimated that around 1,000 between direct, indirect and induced-.

This plant will also have a technology that will allow it to be energy independent from 100% renewable sources, thus becoming one of the first completely self-sufficient factories. Likewise, and as a result of this renewable supply, the centre will have a zero net carbon emissions balance, which will also make it a pioneer in the field of industrial decarbonization.

Synergies to reinvent Spanish industry

During the visit, both the Government Delegate and the President of Norvento highlighted the different projects in which the company is involved thanks to institutional support. An example is the Zeppelin consortium, promoted by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) within the framework of the 2021 call of the MISSIONS SCIENCE AND INNOVATION Programme (Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan). This project is supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and financed by NextGenerationEU funds, and its objective is to research and develop innovative, efficient and circular technological solutions to produce and store green hydrogen.

Together with Repsol, Naturgy, Redexis, Reganosa, Perseo and Técnicas Reunidas, Norvento is working within the Zeppelin consortium to research dark fermentation technologies – obtaining biohydrogen from organic waste in the absence of light and by the action of anaerobic bacteria – and hydrogen purification processes, making available to the consortium its knowledge and experience in the field of hydrogen and waste revaluation for energy production.

During the meeting, Pedro Blanco pointed out that “Norvento is an example of a leading company, which is committed to the latest trends in clean energy and ecological transition and therefore has and will have the outstretched hand of the Spanish Government in the future. It is an example that the recovery funds are reaching all companies in Galicia, including Norvento. In fact, as of today, we are talking about 25,000 companies throughout Galicia, 4,000 in the province of Lugo, that “In the decarbonization plan that is being implemented, and that will mobilize 3,000 million euros, Norvento’s zero emissions factory may have a place. From here we want to extend our hand to Norvento so that it can participate in these PERTE funds and, of course, to continue attracting and maintaining its commitment to job creation in Lugo, quality employment, which will allow young people to stay in Galicia”.

For his part, Pablo Fernández Castro thanked the Government Delegate and the other authorities for their visit to Norvento’s headquarters, he also pointed out that “Norvento is today one of the few Spanish companies in the renewable energy sector that operates throughout the value chain; not only we do generate energy and provide advanced solutions for self-consumption, but we also design and manufacture wind turbines and energy storage systems with batteries”. A business model that, he continued, “allows us to use the profits we make from producing energy at our wind farms to develop high-tech products and thus, generate industrial activity in Galicia, with investment and quality employment, making our dream of contributing to energy and technological independence a reality”. Finally, the President of Norvento pointed out that “we are hopeful that the Fábrica Norvento Enerxía Cero project will fit in and be selected in the next PERTE decarbonization project, as it is a Zero energy consumption facility, which will provide products of high technological value to promote the decarbonisation of the industrial sector”.