Gasgrid Finland to develop a national hydrogen infrastructure
The project will generate new know-how and conditions to broadly serve hydrogen economy development.
Gasgrid Finland is to accelerate the development of Finland’s national hydrogen infrastructure as well as the infrastructure enabling a regional hydrogen market to support the development of a hydrogen economy in Finland.
Due to recent changes in the operating environment, a tighter energy and security policy situation, and the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan aims to improve Europe’s energy self-sufficiency, it has become necessary to fast forward the development of Finland’s new national and cross-border energy infrastructure. Besides this, Finland’s very considerable renewable energy resources could enable the emergence and development of new European-scale industries in Finland based on competitive electricity, thereby creating new export and production potential.
The European Commission’s REPowerEU plan means ambitions to increase the amount of renewable energy and hydrogen have risen considerably compared to the EU’s earlier ambitions and the timespan has also been tightened to respond to the changed situation. The RepowerEU decision will increase the prerequisites for a hydrogen economy on a fast schedule.
It is crucial to fast forward the energy infrastructure development to enable change and reach these ambitions. This is why the Finnish Government has decided to mandate Gasgrid Finland to promote the development of the national hydrogen infrastructure, international infrastructure cooperation and the hydrogen market in the Baltic Sea Region as soon as possible.
The responsibility for development will allow Gasgrid Finland to fast track the development it has already started and projects already underway such as the Nordic Hydrogen Route – Bothnian Bay. The Nordic Hydrogen Route is a cross-border project between Finland and Sweden aimed at building a network of pipelines in the Bothnia Bay region. To promote the development of a hydrogen economy, Gasgrid Finland has additionally launched a demonstration project on hydrogen transmission aimed at utilising Kemira’s by-product hydrogen at Ovako’s Imatra mill.
