The Castilla y León Hydrogen Valley is celebrating an important milestone for one of its industrial pilots. The Regional Government of Castilla y León (Junta de Castilla y León) has declared the eM-Numancia project, promoted by Elyse Energy at the PEMA business park in Garray (Soria), a Priority Industrial Project for the period 2026–2030. The official announcement explicitly names the project as one of the strategic pilots of the Castilla y León Hydrogen Valley.
Within the valley, ELYSE leads the green methanol for industry pilot, which uses renewable hydrogen, produced with renewable electricity, combined with gas from forest biomass to make renewable e-biomethanol. The fuel is intended mainly for sectors that are hard to electrify, such as the chemical industry and heavy, maritime and air transport.
The new status matters for a simple reason: time. All regional administrative procedures linked to the project are declared urgent, which halves the ordinary statutory deadlines, and the status also ensures coordination with other administrations. In return, the promoter commits to starting works within one year and to maintaining its investment and employment commitments for at least five years after 2030.
The project envisages an investment of more than EUR 320 million and an initial capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes of renewable e-biomethanol per year, with a possible second phase of up to 200,000 tonnes. For Soria, it means around 260 direct and 640 indirect jobs during construction, and at least 50 direct and around 125 indirect jobs once in operation, mostly in highly qualified technical roles. The project has also received around EUR 44 million from Spain’s Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), linked to its renewable hydrogen production.
For the Castilla y León Hydrogen Valley, the recognition is a clear sign of institutional support for a regional hydrogen economy, and shows one of our pilots moving steadily from plan to implementation. Congratulations to the ELYSE team!
Photo credits: Elyse & Maksym Diachenko on Unsplash
