Finland’s P2X Solutions has launched the country’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen production plant, the company said in a statement, as green fuel demand in key industries remains weak.
Low-emission hydrogen fuel is currently among a few world’s options to transition towards a fossil-free economy. Demand for hydrogen in heavy industry, long-haul transport and energy storage still accounts for less than 1% of global demand despite a two-digit growth in 2023, the International Energy Agency said in its hydrogen demand report.
Located near Finland’s industrial park near a major sea port, the new hydrogen plant might have its customer demand issue settled. Hydrogen is a key ingredient required in the electrolysis-based production of battery-grade nickel, supplied by the Harjavalta unit of the world’s top Class I nickel exporter Russia’s Norilsk Nickel.
P2X Solutions is majority owned by a Swiss energy group Alpiq that operates throughout Europe.
“The inauguration of the green hydrogen production plant in Harjavalta is an important milestone in the further development of the European hydrogen market”, said Amédée Murisier, P2X Solutions Chairman and a member of Alpiq’s Executive Board, as cited by the press release.
P2X Solutions is also planning hydrogen plants in Finland’s Joensuu and Oulu. “The company aims to gradually increase hydrogen production to reach a capacity of 40 MW for the Joensuu plant and up to 100 MW for the Oulu plant,” the hydrogen producer said.
Another customer of hydrogen from the plant is a company in Finland’s Kotka owned by Denmark-based Danisco Sweeteners, which uses hydrogen in the production of xylitol, a sugar substitute widely used in the food industry.
The new plant launch may be seen as a broader effort by Finland to build a hydrogen economy, aiming to cut emissions across industry and transport.
“Finland is in a great position to become a superpower in clean hydrogen and its derivative fuels”, P2X cites its founder and CEO Herkko Plit.
Projections indicate the hydrogen sector could support more than 115,000 jobs and contribute around 13% to the country’s GDP by the mid-2030s, P2X said.
