The automotive components company MMM Group inaugurated this Friday the first hydrogen generator factory in Europe in Molins de Rei (Barcelona), a project that has had an initial investment of 2.5 million euros. This is Methanol Reformer, a plant dedicated to finding solutions based on methanol reforming to produce clean, efficient, and decentralized energy. The company plans to launch about 450 reformers per year. In this way, the business group "diversifies its business towards energy transition," according to the company's CEO, Jordi Priu, who has estimated expanding the workforce to a hundred employees next year.
The executive pointed out that hydrogen "is the dark horse" and explained that the commitment to this area came from associating with the American company Element 1. The agreement with this firm allowed obtaining the license and technology transfer related to methanol-to-hydrogen generators, reports ACN.
Priu recalled that it was a "difficult" process, because the Catalan firm "comes from metal, from industry," but "they were convinced by the fact that inside these machines there are tubes and welding." The CEO also pointed to the difficulties experienced in the last three years, due to the effects of Covid-19 and "the closure of Nissan, because in this space where the new plant has been located, the brake, clutch, and fuel pipes for the Japanese firm's pick-up vans were made."
The director of MMM Group announced that the agreement with Element 1 will be "closer" in the future, which will mean "an almost global geographical reach." In this sense, Priu guaranteed that when "the relevant orders arrive, there will be a second factory in Mexico and wherever necessary."
"The opportunity of the renewables industry"
The Minister of Business and Labor, Roger Torrent, who visited the new plant this Friday, emphasized "the opportunity" that "the renewables industry" represents. That is, energy to "power a decarbonized industry." Torrent highlighted the importance of hydrogen as a "clear vector" that "links with the decarbonized industry and the industry necessary to generate clean energy."
"The plant will have a laboratory, the crown jewel, which will serve for testing and verification, guaranteeing the quality and reliability of all reformers and critical components that are part of the product; satisfying the most demanding quality standards of the industry," added Oscar Tejedor, general director of Methanol Reformer.
By 2024, the factory is expected to have 100 workers. Methanol Reformer expects to close the year with a turnover of 1 million euros and has announced ambitious expansion plans, with a new plant in Mexico with a production capacity of 1,000 reformers per year. As part of the strategy to support these growth plans, the company is carrying out a capital increase, as explained by the company in a statement.
Manufactura Moderna de Metales (MMM) is a business group specialized in the design, development, and manufacturing of systems that integrate tubes for the automotive industry, with factories in Spain, Mexico, and Romania. Founded in 1944, it is managed by the third generation of the Priu family and has 700 workers. As a global supplier to the automotive sector, MMM counts among its clients the most important companies in the motor industry.
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