The biomass sector is booming in Spain . While work on the future La Robla Green plant in León is progressing well and entering a new phase with the start of the foundation work, the IMDEA Energy Institute is presenting a scientific breakthrough that could revolutionize the production of renewable chemicals. Both initiatives demonstrate the potential of this technology to decarbonize the economy and generate employment in areas that have historically relied on coal.
What began as an announcement at the start of the year is becoming a tangible reality. Reolum, the company behind the La Robla Green project, confirms that construction is progressing and remains on track for 2028. Eight months after the project began, work has moved beyond the initial site development and is now focused on the foundations of the biomass plant, one of the cornerstones of the future energy complex.
Robla Green is making progress on the ground
The La Robla Green project envisions the conversion of the former coal-fired power plant into a next-generation industrial complex. The biomass plant will have a capacity of 50 MW and will be able to generate approximately 400 GWh of renewable electricity per year. But that's just part of it: the design includes around 200 MW of electrolyzers to produce green hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ capture systems, which will be combined with that hydrogen to manufacture e-methanol, with a capacity of up to 140.000 tons per year. This synthetic fuel is intended for sectors that are difficult to decarbonize , such as maritime transport and aviation, and positions the plant as a European benchmark in the bioeconomy.
The total investment reaches €850 million, a figure the company has maintained since the initial announcement. Regarding employment, forecasts point to around 200 permanent jobs during the operational phase, although the company has introduced a new element: the future innovation center could add between 20 and 30 additional jobs. “With the innovation center, the number for the laboratory will likely increase,” Reolum sources indicate. This extra skilled employment reinforces the project's local impact and helps diversify an economy that has been seeking alternatives to coal for years.
During construction, the impact is even greater. The company estimates an average of 800 workers, with peaks that could reach between 1.500 and 1.600 people. The progress of the project over these eight months has served to visualize the transition from planning to increasingly tangible execution.
Renewable chemicals: the advance of IMDEA Energy
Meanwhile, research continues to provide solutions to make biomass a viable alternative to fossil fuels. A team from the IMDEA Energy Institute has developed a process that allows for the production of aromatic hydrocarbons from biomass and vegetable oils, compounds that serve as the basis for manufacturing plastics, solvents, and fuels. The study, published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, addresses one of the major obstacles to this type of conversion : catalysts tend to become dirty quickly and lose effectiveness, hindering their large-scale application.
The solution devised by the researchers combines two techniques. First, they decompose the biomass at low temperatures, thus preventing the formation of substances that foul the catalyst. Then, they add non-edible vegetable oils to the process, which improves the quality and quantity of the resulting compounds. Experiments, conducted with oak wood and wheat straw, showed that this combination yields almost three times more aromatic hydrocarbons than conventional methods. Furthermore, the catalyst takes up to eight times longer to lose activity, reducing the frequency with which it needs to be regenerated.
In economic terms, the process could generate higher revenue per ton of raw material processed compared to current alternatives. This is an important step towards the industrial application of these biofuels in Spain , which could become a viable alternative to petroleum in chemical production.
Biomass is proving that it's not just for generating electricity or heat. Beyond industrial projects like La Robla Green, cutting-edge research is opening the door to high value-added products.
In short, Spain's commitment to biomass is materializing in concrete projects and scientific advances with real impact. La Robla Green is maintaining its schedule and its multi-million euro investment, while IMDEA Energy is bringing the production of renewable chemicals closer to industrial reality.
