The Finnish oil group Neste has signed an agreement with thyssenkrupp Nucera to reserve production capacities. The company has thus secured electrolysers with a total capacity of 120 MW. The plan is to install the equipment at the Neste refinery in Porvoo, Finland, which is to become the "most sustainable in Europe".
The thyssenkrupp subsidiary is to supply six Scalum electrolysers with 20 MW for the Finnish refinery. By using the green hydrogen produced with them, Neste wants to make its refinery the "most sustainable in Europe." The aim is to replace the fossil or "gray" hydrogen used today with its green counterpart.
The Finnish company is also looking into using the thermal energy generated during hydrogen production for district heating. To this end, the refining company has launched a preliminary study with Porvoon Energia. The regional energy supplier focuses on the generation and distribution of heat and electricity and the development of electricity networks.
The final investment decision is expected to be made during 2024, said Markku Korvenranta, executive vice president at Neste Oil Products.
Hydrogen in Finland
For the hydrogen project, Neste became the first Finnish company to receive IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) status in July 2022. One of the largest projects planned so far in the Scandinavian country is a 300 MW plant by Flexens Oy Ab and KIP Infra Oy in Kokkola. Production of green hydrogen and ammonia is scheduled to begin there in late 2027.
Finland aims to be the first industrialized country in the world to become CO₂-neutral by 2035. To achieve this, the Scandinavians are relying on a massive increase in wind and water energy, for which Finland offers one of the best environments. Some of this wind energy will also be used to generate green hydrogen.
Electrolyzer manufacturer Nucera
Electrolyzer production cannot currently be fully automated, which means it takes some time. However, as demand for the technology is very high, thyssenkrupp Nucera is concluding advance orders, or more precisely reservation agreements for production capacities, with its customers.
According to the company, the contract with the Finnish group was already the third within a short time. In total, the company has thus secured the purchase of plants with a total capacity of over 3 GW.
The manufacturer supplies its alkaline 20 MW modules to the following projects, among others:
- Air Products in Saudi Arabia with a capacity of over 2 GW
- H2 Green Steel in Sweden with a capacity of over 700 MW.
Nucera made its debut on the public market in July, followed by its IPO in September. Just in early October, the company announced that it was opening another site in India.
