Planners’ vision for a new hydrogen production plant in Raanila, Oulu, northern Finland. The photo shows both a facility that electrolyzes water to produce hydrogen and a facility that stores hydrogen.Credit: Owl Energy
Finnish energy company Oulu Energy, together with project partner Finnish P2X Solutions, plans to build a 100MW hydrogen production plant in Oulu, northern Finland.
According to preliminary plans, the entire project planned for the La Anila Industrial Zone will include an electrolysis plant with a capacity of up to 100 MW, a carbon capture plant, hydrogen and carbon dioxide storage facilities, and the final products will be methane and carbon dioxide. It is expected to include a potential additional processing plant. For example, methanol.
This will be Oulu Energy’s first hydrogen project and will help revitalize the Oulu region’s economy.
The products produced by hydrogen plants could potentially be used to replace fossil fuels in road, sea and air transport. Preliminary estimates suggest that around 200-400GWh of thermal energy per year will be generated as a by-product and sent to the district heating network, while the oxygen could be recovered for industrial use.
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“The resulting thermal energy corresponds to approximately 10 to 30 percent of Oulu’s annual district heating demand. This makes it possible to generate heat in an environmentally friendly way, increasing the competitiveness of district heating. ” said Kimmo Alaturkila, Development Director at Oulu Energy.
Additionally, the project aims to investigate the possibility of recovering biogenic exhaust gases from local industries and power plants in the further processing of hydrogen.
The project development phase, which has now begun, is being led by P2X Solutions. The company is currently building an industrial-scale green hydrogen and synthetic methane production plant in Harjavarta, western Finland.
Herkko Plit, CEO of P2X Solutions commented: “Oulu Energy is a pioneer in sustainable energy production in northern Finland. We are very happy to be able to proceed with a joint project that shows that green hydrogen can also be a solution for reducing emissions through heat generation. Once completed, the Oulu hydrogen plant will have a capacity of up to 100 MW, making it very significant on a Finnish scale. For P2X Solutions, this project will significantly expand the operations of our facilities in Harjavarta and Joensuu. It means that.”
During the project development phase, plant feasibility and location options are considered and an impact assessment is performed. An investment decision is expected in autumn 2025, and the factory could be completed as early as 2028.