thyssenkrupp nucera and Neste are collaborating on a project to incorporate a 120 megawatt (MW) water electrolyzer into Neste’sPorvoo refinery in Finland. Neste, producer of sustainable aviation fuel, renewable diesel and renewable feedstocks for various applications in the polymer and chemical industries, has signed an agreement with thyssenkrupp nucera to reserve production capacities for an alkaline water electrolysis plant. The agreement covers the supply of six standardized 20 MW scalum® modules with a total installed capacity of 120 MW, including corresponding advisory services.
“Our project is one of the largest development projects for green hydrogen production in European refineries and supports our goal of transforming Neste’sPorvoo refinery into the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. The green hydrogen would primarily be used in the refinery’s processes to replace hydrogen produced from fossil raw materials. The investment decision readiness is expected to be reached during 2024,” informed Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President,Neste Oil Products.
Neste is also looking into using the thermal energy generated during the production of green hydrogen with the thyssenkrupp nuceraelectrolyzer at the refinery for district heating. Accordingly, the Finnish company has started a preliminary study with PorvoonEnergia, a regional Finnish energy company focused on heat and power generation and distribution, as well as power grid development.
“The hydrogen projects at the Porvoo refinery will be an integral part of the European value chain for the production and use of green hydrogen. Neste has chosen our highly reliable alkaline water electrolysis technology for this purpose in order to make its refinery more sustainable and significantly reduce its carbon footprint,” commented Dr. Werner Ponikwar, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp nucera.
The press release stated that in July 2022, Neste became the first Finnish company to receive IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) status from the European Commission for the company’s hydrogen projects.
“Demand for our highly efficient and large-scale electrolysis systems grows continuously. That’s why Neste selected the option to partner and reserve production capacity at thyssenkrupp nucera to support the timeline of its project. It is now the third reservation agreement for production capacities within just a few months,” emphasised Dr. ChristophNoeres, Head of Green Hydrogen at thyssenkrupp nucera AG & Co. KGaA.
“We are happy to cooperate with thyssenkrupp nucera regarding the electrolyzers. Should the investment decision be made, the reservation agreement would allow us to promptly proceed into the next stage,” acknowledged TeroSario, Project Director for the Porvoo Renewable Hydrogen project at Neste.
