Nordic Hydrogen Week was held in Oulu for the third time in February. The main themes were hydrogen research, social acceptance of renewable energy projects, Nordic cooperation and Nordic hydrogen projects. During the week, BusinessOulu signed a cross-border energy cooperation agreement with Energi i Nord of Northern Norway and Arctic Energy Partners.
Janne Hietaniemi, Account Manager at BusinessOulu, says that the main event of Hydrogen Week, Northern Power, succeeded in providing the international audience with new encounters and meaningful content.
– Northern Power attracted a total of 35 international speakers and around 420 participants from 20 different countries. The event was crowned by a joint venture agreement between the City of Oulu and Verso Energy of France for Verso’s €1.4 billion hydrogen plant project in the port of Oritkari. The week of the event also coincided with the launch of P2X Solutions’ Harjavalta hydrogen plant, which saw the first green hydrogen molecules see the light of day in Finland.
Cooperation a prerequisite for success
At the moment, the hydrogen sector is particularly concerned with cooperation and the social acceptance of the hydrogen economy in society. Cooperation in the Nordic region is particularly important for the introduction of hydrogen and the realisation of the green transition. This objective is already being achieved in the case of researchers and research institutes. More cooperation is also in the hopes, for example between cities and businesses.
– Nordic cooperation is essential to ensure that we do not just optimise our share of the hydrogen economy, but that everyone benefits. Cooperation should take place at national level, but also on the Nordic axis, at least between the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland, says the cooperation agreement signed by BusinessOulu, Energi i Nord and Arctic Energy Partners.
– What is most important is that the hydrogen economy is now starting to become a reality. In the near future, we will see more and more hydrogen on the streets, adds Hietaniemi.
In Oulu, hydrogen is a tangible feature of the large-scale hydrogen refinery planned for Oritkari, among other things. The plant is planned to produce 80,000 tonnes of synthetically produced aviation fuel, or eSAF, per year in the future. In a press release issued by the City of Oulu, Ari Alatossava, Mayor of Oulu, says the Verso Energy project shows that Oulu has a real contribution to make in the green transition.
– As a city, we are creating the conditions for companies to invest here.
Antoine Huard, CEO of Verso Energy in France, and Ari Alatossava, Mayor of Oulu, signed a cooperation agreement to build Finland's largest hydrogen refinery in Oritkari, Oulu.
Oulun Energia a major player in promoting hydrogen economy in the Oulu region
Oulun Energia, the local power company and a partner of the Northern Power event, also has a major hydrogen project underway in cooperation with P2X Solutions Oy. The aim is to build a hydrogen plant in Laanila, Oulu. According to Oulun Energia’s Development Director, Kimmo Alatulkkila, the project is progressing as planned towards the next stage of development.
– We have completed the conceptual design phase of the project in November 2024, and we are currently in the EIA programme preparation phase, on which we will hold the next public meeting at Hotel Lasaretti on 27 February 2025. The next phase of project development will be carried out with the equipment suppliers selected for this phase. The future looks promising, to say the least.
Oulun Energia’s goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in 2030. Hydrogen will play an important role in achieving this goal.
– We estimate that in 2030 Oulun Energia will have carbon dioxide emissions of around 100,000 kilograms from fossil fuels. In the hydrogen economy, on the other hand, the production of synthetic fuels requires about 100,000 kilograms of biogenic carbon dioxide due to the RFNBO eligibility of the fuel. The amount of emissions is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide used to make the target end product, so in the hydrogen project we are tying all the captured carbon dioxide to the target end product, says Alatulkkila.
Oulun Energia has many times more carbon dioxide available than in the base case project, which means there is potential for further development in the area.
Kimmo Alatulkkila of Oulun Energia talks about the ongoing hydrogen plant project.
The hydrogen economy offers a lot of opportunities, but also challenges
The hydrogen economy and the introduction of renewable energy offer opportunities, but there are also challenges to implementation.
– The political environment poses its own challenges to the green transition. It is also still uncertain how the market for hydrogen will develop. This will depend on both customer demand and the ability to pay. In addition, the potential of the hydrogen economy can be linked to security of supply considerations.
– Does the hydrogen economy create freedom from imported fuels, and is this a genuinely critical argument for promoting the hydrogen economy? Alatulkkila asks.
On the other hand, the potential of the hydrogen economy is also great. Alatulkkila sees that, if implemented, it can generate multisectoral employment and welfare for the whole value chain.
– The hydrogen economy enables Finland to attract high-value-added investments for export. In addition, new value creation models can be created for biogenic carbon sources. My question is whether we have alternatives.
The Northern Power event was organised by BusinessOulu and CleantechOulu together with their partners. Thanks to our main partner Oulun Energia and other partners OX2, Fimpec, Gasgrid, Resato Hydrogen Technology, Nordion Energi, H2 Cluster Finland, Kaleva, Oulu 2026 European Capital of Culture and the ice hockey team Oulun Kärpät.