Neste moves forward in its renewable hydrogen project in Finland

In accordance with its ambition to reach carbon-neutral production by 2035, Neste is working on a 120 MW electrolyzer project to produce renewable (i.e. green) hydrogen at its Porvoo refinery in Finland.

The company has now decided to proceed to the basic engineering phase of the project. The investment decision readiness is expected to be reached in early 2024. If an investment decision is made, green hydrogen production could start in 2026.

“Our project is one of the largest development projects to produce green hydrogen in the European refineries and it supports our goal to transform the Porvoo refinery to the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. The green hydrogen would be primarily used in our Porvoo refinery’s processes, where it would replace hydrogen produced from fossil feedstocks,” says Markku Korvenranta.

The production of green hydrogen also generates renewable heat. In connection with the 120 MW green hydrogen project, Neste has started a preliminary study with Porvoon Energia on the utilization of renewable heat in district heating. Porvoon Energia is a regional Finnish energy company focusing on heat and electricity production and distribution as well as the development of the electricity network.

Hydrogen projects at Neste’s Porvoo refinery contribute considerably to the EU green hydrogen value chain. In July 2022, Neste became the first Finnish company to receive IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) status from the European Commission for its hydrogen projects. In December 2022, Business Finland awarded Neste EUR 27.7 million of public funding for its renewable hydrogen projects at the Porvoo refinery.