This initiative by IFF Benicarló involves demolishing the existing warehouses closest to the station, which are currently deteriorated and covered in graffiti. In their place, a distinctively designed building will be erected, which will not only house the research laboratory and offices but will also have a new green hydrogen production plant behind it.
The Benicarló City Council has already begun processing the detailed study required to reorder the 58,878 square meter plot. This plot is located between Felipe Klein Avenue and Febrer Soriano Street, where the company already has its production plant. The goal is to unify the land, demolish existing facilities, and construct the R&D center for fragrances and ingredients, as announced last November.
The new laboratory will specialize in developing more efficient aromatic molecules with a lower environmental impact, as well as biocatalysis processes to reduce solvent use. Additionally, it will research clean technologies, byproduct recycling, and energy optimization. The research building will have a maximum height of 10 meters.
This is a global commitment by IFF to innovation, which will turn Benicarló into a key node within its international network of R&D centers.
Company sources emphasize that this investment will not be limited to the building's construction but will include the acquisition of advanced technology, state-of-the-art scientific equipment, and collaboration programs with academic and scientific institutions, both national and international. IFF Benicarló aims to attract specialized suppliers, auxiliary companies, technology consultants, and startups, as well as scientists and engineers from around the world, maintaining close cooperation with universities and technology centers.
The energy project will be carried out in collaboration with Iberdrola Clientes, which will own the green hydrogen generation plant. This supply will enable the decarbonization of current production processes and replace gray hydrogen consumed in the facilities with green hydrogen. IFF, for its part, will own the hydrogen storage and compression plant.
The North American multinational, headquartered in Augusta, also plans to install solar panels on the roofs of three buildings near the future plant and on the parking lot canopies, with the aim that most of the energy consumed will be from clean sources.
Currently, the Benicarló plant has a production capacity of 18,513 tons annually of chemical products for perfumery and cosmetics. Its nine production units handle 608 types of raw materials and over 2,000 processes to obtain a wide range of final products.
Although IFF is the main reference in the chemical sector in the locality, it is not the only company. Vibrantz Benicarló, part of the Vibrantz Technologies Group, has obtained an extension until January 2049 for its Declaration of Community Interest (DIC) for its production plant, located on the Fossa d’en Pastor road. This authorization, affecting about thirty employees, was crucial to prevent the factory's relocation.
The Vibrantz site belonged to Pinturas Benicarló since 1998, when the first warehouse was built. Subsequently, it was expanded in 2004 and 2013 with two new warehouses, and in 2015, offices were expanded, and a laboratory was set up. After its integration into the structure of the defunct Ferro in 2016, the factory underwent a new expansion with an external chemical storage facility, and in 2018, a fire protection system was installed to comply with industrial safety regulations.
