XEAL presents its two strategic projects for which it foresees an investment in Galicia of 425M€.

• A charcoal plant, to be located at the Dumbría factory, which will generate some 13,000 tons per year and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by some 50,000 tons over the same period.
• The energy storage project of the Monte da Ruña reversible hydroelectric power plant will allow the generation of energy from renewable sources, thus contributing to guaranteeing grid stability and helping to integrate renewable energies.
• The company presented both projects at the event to commemorate the 120th anniversary of XEAL, the 30th anniversary of Energo-Pro and the fact that a year ago Energo-Pro acquired the company located in A Costa da Morte.

Cee, October 3, 2024_. This morning Xeal celebrated its 120th anniversary, the 30th anniversary of Energo-Pro and the fact that a year ago Energo-Pro acquired the company located in A Costa da Morte. In this time, XEAL has played a key role in the industrial evolution of the region, contributing to social welfare and environmental care. Today, the company has highlighted two of its most ambitious initiatives: the Charcoal Plant and the Monte da Ruña Project, for which the company foresees a global investment of around 425M€.

The event, attended by a wide representation of the business and institutional fabric of the region, was attended by Alfonso Rueda, president of the Xunta de Galicia; Pedro Blanco, delegate of the Government in Galicia; Valentín González, president of the Deputación da Coruña; Zuzana Hlavičková, economic diplomat of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Spain; Jakub Fajfr, director of Energo-Pro, and María Couto, CEO of Xeal. 

Jakub Fajfr, a director of Energo-Pro, emphasized that the Czech Republic company, which owns XEAL, "always has a long-term vision. As we celebrate 30 years of our company's history, we reaffirm our commitment to XEAL and to the future of this great company. We have invested here for the long term, ensuring that XEAL not only survives, but thrives for generations to come."

María Couto, CEO of XEAL, emphasized that "our purpose summarizes very well how we pick up the gauntlet of the legacy of our history and use it to create our future, in Xeal we work every day to be a reference in the sectors in which we operate through innovation and excellence creating value in a sustainable way. And as a result of this daily work to analyze the challenges and opportunities of each of our divisions and position them as leaders in their sectors, two projects were born that we consider key to our future".

TWO STRATEGIC PROJECTS

The company's two strategic projects would result in a reduction of 285,000 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per year.

Charcoal Plant: A Sustainable and Job-Generating Project

XEAL's Ferroalloys Division faces the challenge of decarbonization in order to meet the objectives set by Europe, as well as those of the PNIEC (National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan) and the Galicia Energy Agenda 2030, all aimed at achieving climate neutrality by 2050. 

In the ferroalloy production process,_CO2 is emitted when using fossil coal as a reducing agent in the process (not as an energy source). For this reason, in order to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, XEAL plans to build a charcoal plant at its Dumbría facilities that will allow replacing between 15% and 30% of this fossil coal with charcoal.

XEAL's charcoal plant is a key project in the company's sustainability strategy. With an investment of 25 million euros (it has been granted a grant of €8.7m from the PERTE decarbonization program), it will be able to generate between 11 and 14 thousand tons of charcoal per year. This project will not only contribute to the economic growth of the region, but will also boost employment. During the construction phase, the plant will generate more than 60 jobs, and during the operation phase, it will maintain more than 40 jobs (direct and indirect).

In the environmental field, XEAL's Charcoal Plant is a clear example of the transition towards a low carbon economy, achieving a reduction of 50,000 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) per year, which translates into a saving of more than €1.9M in social costs due to emission reductions.

Monte da Ruña Reversible Hydropower Plant: Renewable energy on a large scale

Galicia's Energy Agenda 2030 establishes the objective that 85% of electricity generation in Galicia should come from renewable sources and the latest National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) approved that electricity from renewable sources should represent 81% of total generation by 2030. 

This presents a great challenge in terms of grid stability when the renewable technologies that will contribute to this objective are mainly solar and wind, which are intermittent technologies. Therefore, it is necessary to have technologies such as hydro storage that contribute to guaranteeing grid stability and therefore enable the achievement of these generation targets from renewable sources.

Therefore, the company's Energy Division has set itself the objective of contributing to the integration of renewable energy sources with the project of a reversible hydroelectric power plant planned in Monte da Ruña (municipality of Mazaricos), for which an investment of close to 400M€ and an installed capacity of 400MW is estimated, and which will have 2,300Mwh of storage capacity. In addition, it will generate more than 45 direct jobs and as many indirect jobs during its operation phase and more than 1,000 during its construction phase. 

From an environmental point of view, the project would achieve a reduction of 235,000 tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) per year, which would translate into savings of more than 8.2 million euros per year in social costs due to the reduction of emissions and more than 9.7 million euros per year in social costs due to improvements in air quality.

The project envisages the creation of 2.5 cubic hectometers of capacity, which would strengthen the stability and efficiency of the renewable energy system.

A Sustainable Future 

Both projects are aligned with 13 and 14 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) respectively. In this way, XEAL reaffirms its commitment to sustainability, innovation and social responsibility. The company continues to lead the change towards a cleaner and more efficient energy model, contributing to the economic and social development of the region, and leaving a positive legacy for future generations.

120 YEARS OF HISTORY

Xeal was born in 1904 with the start-up, at the Cee factory, of the first calcium carbide furnace, used to generate acetylene gas, which was used for public lighting, thus marking the company's innovative spirit from the very beginning.

Throughout the 1920s, first a ferromanganese furnace was installed in this plant, then a ferrosilicon furnace and at the end of the decade a silico-manganese furnace. At the end of the 70's the Dumbría plant was started up.

The energy division has also been growing throughout these 120 years since the Salto del Pindo hydroelectric power plant was commissioned, also at the beginning of the last century, until the commissioning of the last three plants (Fervenza II, Ponte Olveira II and Novo Castrelo) in 2018.

During this period, the rest of the power plants and dams were built and put into operation, the most important being the Fervenza large dam at the end of the 1970s and Santa Uxía at the end of the 1980s.

About XEAL

Xallas Electricidad y Aleaciones, S.A.U. (XEAL) manages and operates two ferroalloy production plants, located in the Cee-Dumbría industrial complex, and 10 hydroelectric power plants, located in the Xallas and Grande river basin, from which clean energy is obtained.

With the future always as a horizon, XEAL seeks to be a reference in the sectors where we operate, through innovation and excellence, creating value in a sustainable manner.

About Energo-Pro

ENERGO-PRO was founded in 1994 and has specialized in power generation, distribution and sales for the past 30 years. Today, it is the largest Czech investor in the hydropower sector, owning and operating 45 hydropower plants in Bulgaria, Georgia, Turkey and Spain. The second pillar of its activity is the distribution and sale of electricity. In Bulgaria and Georgia, it distributes energy to more than 2.6 million customers. They are also engaged in electricity trading and have an electromechanical turbine manufacturing division and a ferroalloys business.