Press release Gasgrid Finland 15.2.2023
Gasgrid Finland Oy's hydrogen transmission infrastructureThe purpose of the demonstration project is tobuild a hydrogen transmission pipeline to transfer the hydrogen produced at Kemiran Oyj's Joutseno plant to Ovakon Imatra Oy Ab's Imatra steelworks via Gasgrid's hydrogen pipeline. This is the first hydrogen transfer project outside an industrial site. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has granted €9.5 million in RRF energy investment aid for the design and possible construction of the project as part of the EU's NextGenerationEU funding. This support is important for the further planning of the project.
The project will create very important conditions for developing Finland's energy and raw material system to enable the large-scale use of renewable energy, new innovative products, solutions, value chains and ecosystems. The aim is to create the best possible conditions for the production, and especially the further processing, of hydrogen in Finland. If implemented, the project would be Finland's first step towards a national and international hydrogen market enabled by a hydrogen infrastructure.
"According to the Government's decision in principle, Finland aims to become a European leader in the hydrogen economy. Hydrogen transport and storage plays an important role in enabling the hydrogen economy. Through this project, we will explore the possibilities of creating a scalable and replicable model for a hydrogen pipeline infrastructure. We also aim to test and deploy technical and commercial solutions," says Sara Kärki, Director of Gasgrid Finland Oy.
The demonstration project will enable Finland's first complete hydrogen value chain from electricity through chemical industry by-product hydrogen to green end products for the steel industry, thus contributing to the development of Finland's energy and raw material system. The project will strengthen sector integration, where different forms of energy balance each other and smooth consumption peaks, enabling more sustainable energy production and consumption in buildings, industry and transport.
Kemira sees the hydrogen pipeline project as an important enabler for the development of the regional hydrogen cluster.
"At Kemira's Joutseno plant, hydrogen is produced as a by-product of chlorate production. A functioning transmission infrastructure will enable efficient hydrogen deliveries and create synergies and growth conditions for further hydrogen processing," says Janne Tynninen, Plant Manager at Kemira's Joutseno plant.
"We are delighted with the financing decision for the hydrogen transmission project. Ovako already has 95% lower carbon emissions in steel production compared to the steel industry average. In addition, from January 2022, we have offset the remaining emissions using carbon offsets. The use of new technology and the possibility of using hydrogen as a fuel in the future will support Ovako's ambition to zero our carbon emissions," comments Klaus Enwald, Plant Manager at Ovako Imatra Oy Ab.
Read the original press release here.