Hydrocarbon economy employs in Eastern Finland
A 23-kilometre-long hydrogen pipeline is planned from the Kemira to Ovako in Southeast Finland.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has granted Gasgrid Finland EUR 9.5 million in RRF energy investment support for the design and possible construction of the project as part of the EU's NextGenerationEU funding.
If completed, this would be the first hydrogen transmission project outside an industrial area in Finland.
The project will explore the potential to create a scalable and replicable model for hydrogen pipeline infrastructure.
- The hydrogen pipeline would enable the transfer and storage of hydrogen from Kemira to Ovako from 2025-2026 and create a scalable concept for a wider hydrogen network. The planned pipeline infrastructure could in the future connect hydrogen producers, users and downstream processors on a larger scale," says Olli Sipilä, CEO of Gasgrid Finland.
Jarmo Johansson, Purchasing Manager from Ovako, Olli Sipilä, Managing Director of Gasgrid Finland and Joonas Likander, Director of Kemira.
The hydrogen economy is believed to be a new sector for Eastern Finland, which could employ thousands of people in the future. The Joutseno-Imatra hydrogen pipeline would enable the development of a regional hydrogen cluster, creating conditions for the supply and further processing of hydrogen.
The objective of the hydrogen cluster is to accelerate the transition to a hydrogen economy and to jointly promote investment and the development of a favourable environment for the hydrogen economy at regional level. The cluster would be composed of a group of companies active in the region and relevant to the development of the hydrogen economy.
"A euro in infrastructure, several euros in revenue for the region"
According to Sipilä, the hydrogen economy will bring new investments, jobs, energy security and security of supply to Finland, thus supporting the well-being and economic development of Finland as a whole.
- Hydrogen transmission and storage play an important role in enabling the hydrogen economy," Sipilä said.
- The project also aims to create conditions for local businesses to operate around and cooperate in the future hydrogen network. Our hope is that every euro invested in the project will generate several euros of additional income for the region through the employment of local businesses," Sipilä continued.
The contractors for the hydrogen pipeline will be selected through a public procurement procedure.
The hydrogen piped to Ovako's Imatra plants would cover 60% of its current natural gas consumption
- Our goal is to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions completely from our mills, i.e. to make steel without carbon dioxide emissions," says Jarmo Johansson, the mill's purchasing manager.
The project will proceed with soil surveys and route refinement in autumn 2023.
According to ELY, the environmental impact of the project is expected to be localised and minor, focusing on the construction phase of the hydrogen pipeline.
The pipeline is planned to follow the existing natural gas pipeline line, which also runs under Vuoksi to Ovako's Imatra factory.
- Next, we will carry out soil surveys and drilling, groundwater and economic well studies, and map the hydrogen pipeline route options in September-October 2023," says Gasgrid's Technical Project Manager Lauri Valovirta.
Read more about the project on Gasgrid Finland's website
For more information:
Technical Project Manager Lauri Valovirta, Gasgrid Finland Oy, lauri.valovirta@gasgrid.fi
Jarmo Johansson, Purchasing Manager, Ovako Imatra Oy Ab, jarmo.johansson@ovako.com