Finland – future’s leading hydrogen economy
Although hydrogen has been used across industries for a long time, green hydrogen has only recently become a hot topic globally. Usually, green hydrogen is made using electrolysis powered solely by renewable energy, leading to zero CO₂ emissions. Due to this, its great potential is being widely discussed as society moves towards carbon neutrality.
In Finland, a sparsely populated country where the amount of wind and solar power has been increasing massively, the green hydrogen economy is not something that is just talked about.
“Finland aims to be its continent’s leading hydrogen economy that produces at least 10 percent of Europe’s hydrogen. To make this happen, we have a wide portfolio of hydrogen projects especially in Ostrobothnia and on the west coast where most of our country’s wind power is produced”, says Sari Kola, an expert in hydrogen economy and ecosystem collaboration at Merinova. For Merinova, the goal is to drive the success of the Vaasa region’s energy technology companies through project expertise and development services.
On top of large-scale renewable energy production, Finland has competitive pricing for clean electricity, a skilled workforce, and a stable society that boost the country’s potential as a hydrogen leader.
“Not to mention that the amount of wind power on the west coast will double or even triple in the coming years. Despite our extensive power grid infrastructure, it will not be able to receive all the wind power in the future. This is where hydrogen steps in”, Kola states.
Wind power can be used to make green hydrogen, which is then transferred to energy storages and utilised when there is not enough weather-dependent energy. However, this requires extensive hydrogen infrastructure.
Finland’s natural gas transmission system operator Gasgrid is planning a national underground hydrogen pipeline. It would be built mainly in coastal areas, Ostrobothnia included, and connect to hydrogen pipelines in other countries. Infrastructure like this would enable the creation of a Finnish and cross-border hydrogen market.
Of course, green hydrogen is not only a tool for transferring, storing, and generating energy. It can be used as a fuel in different applications and act as a raw material in manufacturing various products – such as ammonia, fertilisers, and pharmaceuticals.
Kola notes that there are 11 hydrogen value chains on the Finnish west coast that either have already been or are very likely to be realised. Their planned investment value is billions of euros.
“These value chains range from using hydrogen to manufacture fossil-free steel to combining captured CO₂ with hydrogen to produce e-methane for transport. Multiple value chains will also contribute to the region’s carbon neutrality targets as the surplus heat that hydrogen production generates is used for district heating”, Kola says.
Two of the value chains are already operational – P2X Solutions’ green hydrogen production plant in Harjavalta and Hycamite’s hydrogen production plant in Kokkola. While P2X uses electrolysis in producing hydrogen, Hycamite makes low-carbon hydrogen through methane pyrolysis.
The collaboration across the value chains – developed by the BotH₂nia Association – and the planned BotH₂nia Hydrogen Valley unites over 70 actors from five Finnish coastal areas in the west. The BotH₂nia Hydrogen Valley is envisioned to be a leading hydrogen economy by 2030. That year, the region is projected to produce 350,000 tonnes of clean hydrogen annually. One of the world’s Hydrogen Valleys is already located in Southern Finland.
The high volume of wind power, advanced plans on green hydrogen usage, and the many companies investing in the green transition would make Western Finland very unique among Hydrogen Valleys according to Kola.
“Add to that the cross-industry collaboration, and it is clear why the region is so well-positioned to become a hydrogen leader.”
Sources: Fingrid; Gasgrid; Hycamite
