MOL Group, an integrated oil, gas, petrochemicals, and consumer retail corporation headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, launched a cutting-edge green hydrogen plant in Százhalombatta, Hungary, representing a significant stride in the region’s sustainable energy landscape. Valued at €22 million and having a capacity of 10 megawatts, the facility stands as the largest of its kind in central and eastern Europe.
The plant is poised to revolutionize fuel production by slashing carbon dioxide emissions by 25,000 tons annually at the Danube refinery, a key industrial facility in Hungary. MOL Group anticipates generating 1,600 tons of clean, carbon-neutral green hydrogen per year, signalling the advent of a new era in the hydrogen economy. The initiative is in line with MOL’s corporate strategy, SHAPE TOMORROW, which seeks to bolster the region’s sustainability, competitiveness, and self-reliance.
Fitted with a 10-megawatt electrolysis unit from Plug Power, the green hydrogen plant underscores MOL Group’s commitment to providing sustainable solutions for the future. The investment not only diminishes the refinery’s carbon footprint, but also replaces a substantial portion of the natural gas-based production process, which currently accounts for one-sixth of MOL’s total carbon emissions. Production is slated to commence in the latter half of 2024, with the green hydrogen primarily utilised within MOL’s own network for fuel production.
The innovative electrolysis technology employed by Plug Power harnesses electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, ensuring an environmentally friendly process. The technology is expected to yield 8-9 tons of pure oxygen for every tonne of hydrogen produced.
József Molnár, CEO of MOL Group, said, “We can now produce green hydrogen without generating any greenhouse gases. Using this technology, we are able to achieve the same emissions reduction as if we took roughly 5,500 cars off the road overnight”.
“As a potent means to reduce carbon emissions within refinery operations, we are proud to equip MOL with cutting-edge electrolyzer technology to efficiently produce green hydrogen,” added Plug CEO Andy Marsh.
MOL Group plans to integrate green hydrogen technology into other fuel production units across the group’s refineries, further bolstering the sustainability of its operations. As reported by fuelsandlubes.com, the company aims to transform its traditional fossil-fuel-based operations into a low-carbon, sustainable business model, with a target of achieving net carbon neutrality by 2050 and shaping the low-carbon circular economy in central and eastern Europe.
