Finland – Finnish oil refining company Neste has announced plans to produce green hydrogen at its Porvoo refinery in Finland as part of its mission to become carbon neutral by 2035.
The project will involve the construction of a 120 MW electrolyzer, one of the largest such projects for a European refinery, and will generate renewable heat. The company has initiated a preliminary study with Porvoon Energia, a Finnish regional energy company, to explore the use of renewable heat in district heating.
Neste’s green hydrogen production project will contribute to the EU’s green hydrogen value chain and support the company’s goal of transforming the Porvoo refinery into the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President in Neste’s Oil Products, said that the green hydrogen would primarily replace hydrogen produced from fossil feedstocks in the Porvoo refinery’s processes.
Green hydrogen production
In July 2022, Neste became the first Finnish company to receive IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) status from the European Commission for its hydrogen projects. In December 2022, the company received €27.7 million in public funding from Business Finland for its renewable hydrogen projects at the Porvoo refinery.
The investment decision for the project is expected to be reached in early 2024, with green hydrogen production scheduled to start in 2026, subject to the decision.
The project aligns with the European Union’s objective of decarbonizing industrial processes and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Green hydrogen produced through electrolysis uses renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, which could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industries that rely heavily on fossil fuels. However, some experts have raised concerns about the cost of green hydrogen production and the availability of renewable energy sources.
