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) H₂ at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. The company has now decided to proceed to the basic engineering phase with the project. The investment decision readiness is expected to be reached in early 2024. If an investment decision is made, green H₂ production could start in 2026.

“Our project is one of the largest development projects to produce green H₂ 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 H₂ would be primarily used in our Porvoo refinery’s processes, where it would replace H₂ produced from fossil feedstocks,” said Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President in Neste’s Oil Products.

Production of green H₂ also generates renewable heat. In connection with the 120-MW green H₂ 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 development of the electricity network.

H₂ projects at Neste’s Porvoo refinery contribute considerably to the EU green H₂ value chain. In July 2022, Neste became the first Finnish company to receive Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) status from the European Commission for its H₂ projects. In December 2022, Business Finland awarded Neste €27.7 MM of public funding for its renewable H₂ projects at the Porvoo refinery.