Petronor and H2SITE partner to pioneer high-purity hydrogen production in refining through advanced membrane technology
Bilbao (Spain), April 20th, 2026 — H2SITE, a technology company specialised in advanced hydrogen production and separation solutions, has signed a strategic agreement with Petronor, a leading refinery and key industrial player in the energy sector with a clear commitment to achieving net-zero emissions, to deploy its high-efficiency hydrogen separation technology at Petronor’s refinery.
The partnership sets the stage for the joint development of a pioneering First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) unit, integrating H2SITE’s proprietary membrane technology into the Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) process in refineries to improve overall plant efficiency, enhance CO₂ capture opportunities, and ultimately strengthen operational performance and industrial competitiveness.
Petronor’s engineering and operations teams are joining forces with H2SITE’s technical experts, leveraging decades of refinery expertise, industrial integration, and large-scale project execution. This partnership combines advanced membrane reactor technology with deep operational expertise to accelerate efficient, low-carbon and sustainable hydrogen production.
“Partnering with Petronor allows us to demonstrate, at refinery scale, how our membrane reactor can be integrated downstream of existing reformers to recover more hydrogen while lowering net energy demand. This FOAK installation is designed to prove a repeatable scale-up route, improve process yields, and de-risk rapid commercial roll-out, said Andrés Galnares, CEO of H2SITE.
“Collaborating with H2SITE represents a significant step forward in our roadmap toward more efficient and lower-carbon refining operations. By integrating advanced membrane technology into our existing assets, we aim to optimise hydrogen management, enhance CO₂ capture potential, and reinforce the competitiveness of our industrial facilities. This project reflects our commitment to innovation and to accelerating the transformation of the refining sector toward more sustainable models,”José Ignacio Zudaire, said José Ignacio Zudaire, CEO of Petronor.
About H2SITE
H2SITE is an industrial technology company and infrastructure partner enabling competitive hydrogen and derivatives solutions for large-scale decarbonisation. Through its proprietary membrane reactor technology, H2SITE delivers scalable, standardised and bankable systems for hydrogen production, separation and ammonia cracking. Designed for industrial deployment, its solutions support efficient hydrogen logistics and decentralised generation models.
About Petronor
Petronor is a leading industrial company in Bizkaia (Spain), strongly committed to hydrogen technologies and continuous investment in innovation to improve operational efficiency and advance industrial decarbonisation. Over the past five years, the company has invested more than €1.2 billion and created 201 new jobs, directly employing 940 people and indirectly supporting over 6,000 positions.
Petronor plays a key role in transforming energy-intensive sectors toward more sustainable and competitive models. Its impact on Bizkaia is also reflected in the Port of Bilbao, where it accounts for 40% of total traffic, and in its fiscal contribution, representing 5.5% of the total tax revenues collected by the Provincial Treasury Authorities.
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