Hispasat buys stake in reforestation company
January 25, 2023
By Chris Forrester
Spanish satellite operator Hispasat, now majority owned by infrastructure business Restel, has bought a 10.85 per cent stake in Grupo Sylvestris, a reforestation initiative backed by the Repsol Foundation. Its ‘Green Engine’ scheme, with Hispasat’s involvement, was agreed last year and now confirmed by lawyers acting for Hispasat.
Hispasat and Repsol have an agreement to rehabilitate Spanish forests and this operation is part of that aim. Hispasat’s contribution will include the development of solutions for measuring carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and the certification of the reforestation projects of the Green Engine programme promoted by Repsol, whose objective is to replant 70,000 hectares of forest in the coming years.
Hispasat will also address the development of solutions to prevent fires, sensor rural areas and provide satellite connectivity and will invest around one million euros in these technologies by 2023.
Repsol has also received aid from Microsoft for its Green initiative. Crédit Agricole Indosuez and Portobello Capital are also involved in Repsol’s large-scale reforestation programme with $100 million endowment committed to the project.