Plug Power has announced exciting plans to invest $6bn in developing three green hydrogen production plants in Finland.
The green hydrogen plants will significantly boost Europe’s energy supply and help decarbonise the sector – producing 850 tons of green hydrogen daily, or 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of electrolyser capacity.
Plug’s cutting-edge PEM electrolyser and liquefaction technology will be employed at the facilities. The green hydrogen produced at the plants will help yield ammonia and green direct reduced iron (DRI), which will help reduce Europe’s dependency on fossil fuels.
Broadening Europe’s energy mix
The development of three new green hydrogen plants will be critical for safeguarding Europe’s energy security.
The project’s electrolyser capacity accounts for around 5% of the RePower EU plan, which is targeting ten million tons of European renewable hydrogen by 2030.
The green hydrogen plants will help pioneer low-carbon electricity around the European backbone pipeline near Bothnian Bay and contribute to Finland’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035.
Where will the green hydrogen plants be based?
The green hydrogen plants will be positioned strategically across Finland to take advantage of the country’s clean energy sources, such as nuclear, wind, and hydropower.
The plants will be located at the following:
- Kokkola, Finland: This site will generate 85TPD of liquid green hydrogen and up to 700 kt of green ammonia per year, using 1GW of electrolysers. The liquid green hydrogen will be produced for local use and for export to Western Europe from the Port of Kokkola. Green ammonia will also be exported;
- Kristinestad, Finland: The 1GW electrolyser plant will generate green hydrogen for green steel production (2.0 mt/y of DRI/HBI produced) exported from the port of Kristinestad; and
- Porvoo, Finland: This site will produce up to 100TPD by 2030, which will be used for local mobility and exported to Western Europe.
In addition to decarbonising Europe’s energy supply, the facilities will boost the local economy, creating around 1,000 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs.
Jonne Sandberg, the Development Director of Kokkola, said: “We are proud to be at the forefront of the green transition towards a more sustainable economy. We have consistently developed our infrastructure with a focus on attracting industrial investments.
“Kokkola is committed to supporting the installation of Plug’s project in Kokkola South, and we are delighted about the estimated several hundreds of industrial jobs that will be created with Plug’s establishment.”
Plug will partner with Hy2Gen to develop the ammonia plant and innovate sustainable hydrogen-derived fuels, such as e-fuels, methanol, and ammonia. This will help to decarbonise industry and transport.
Additionally, Plug will collaborate with GravitHy to establish the DRI/HBI plant. GravitHy is a leading company in the field and is also developing a similar site in the South of France that will produce two million tons of DRI/HBI.
Andy Marsh, the CEO of Plug Power, commented: “Already one of the largest players in the European hydrogen market, Plug is accelerating its commitment to Europe at an unprecedented scale with these three planned historic industrial sector projects collaborating with both financial and industrial partners.
“We are proud to commit our know-how and turnkey hydrogen solutions towards helping Finland deliver on its vision to become a European leader of the green hydrogen economy.”
Project financing details
To facilitate the development of green hydrogen plants, Plug has entered discussions with large financial investors and debt providers. They expect the capital structure to include a majority of non-recourse debt, similar to other renewable asset financing.
The company is working with financial partners to obtain capital solutions and industrial partners to solidify offtake agreements before a final investment decision (FID) by 2025/2026.
