DiviGas, Neste, Toyota, Ballard, COP26 pledges, PNNL, NREL, others are hot on hydrogen

Neste to develop Porvoo refinery through green hydrogen

Then there’s news that Neste will receive funding from the EU Innovation Fund to develop its Porvoo refinery through green hydrogen production and carbon capture & storage. The EU Innovation Fund has given a positive grant decision of EUR 88 million funding to Neste’s green hydrogen and CO2 capture & storage project, which aims to quickly and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Porvoo refinery in Finland. The project introduces carbon capture and storage (CCS) and electrolysis solutions that allow decarbonisation of production at the refinery. The project is currently in the feasibility phase.

The project will strongly contribute to the reaching of both Finland’s and the EU’s climate targets and has a significant role in Neste’s target of carbon neutral production by 2035. With this transformation project, a reduction of more than 4 million tons of CO2 emissions can be achieved at the Porvoo refinery in the first 10 years of operation.

“We are proud to have been selected as one of the seven granted projects out of more than 300 applicants in one of the world’s largest funding programs for the demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. This is a great recognition for Neste and its innovations as a front runner and key contributor to the European energy transition. The funding for this project strongly supports our ambition to make Porvoo the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030,” says Peter Vanacker, President and CEO at Neste.

Neste also aims to gather a network of leading European technology suppliers and R&D institutes, laying the foundation for a world-class European hub for renewable hydrogen and CO2 utilisation.

The EU Innovation Fund is investing over €1.1 billion in seven large-scale innovative projects. Neste, among other successful projects, will start to prepare the individual grant agreements with the funding agency, which are expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2022.

More on the story here.

EIB and Hydrogen Europe team up

And speaking of investments, in Luxembourg, the European Investment Bank and Hydrogen Europe, an umbrella association representing European industry, research, and national and regional associations in the hydrogen and fuel cell sector, signed an agreement for advisory services which will help identify projects that could receive EIB financing and support their bankability. Total investment in clean hydrogen in Europe is expected to reach up to €470 billion by 2050.

Under the agreement, the EU bank will provide financing advisory support for hydrogen projects introduced by Hydrogen Europe. Furthermore, it will cooperate on market development initiatives and conduct joint market outreach. Finally, the agreement will help to develop dedicated EIB financing products for green hydrogen.

Hydrogen technology can play a crucial role in achieving a carbon neutral EU economy by 2050. The current share of hydrogen in Europe’s energy mix is less than 2%, but it could rise to 14% by mid-century. The European Hydrogen Strategy, which is part of the European Green Deal, aims to enable widespread use of hydrogen by 2050. According to the strategy, green hydrogen will be produced on a systemically relevant scale between 2030 and 2050. Consequently, investments in renewable or low-carbon hydrogen will need to increase. The strategy anticipates that between €180 and €470 billion will be required for production capacities in the European Union by 2050.

More on the story here.