On Friday, construction began on Finland's first industrial-scale green hydrogen production facility, according to P2X Solutions, the future operator of the plant.
Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable energy to split water through electrolysis and is seen as a crucial power source that can help Europe end its reliance on Russian energy and reduce carbon emissions.
While many countries and companies have recently announced investments in green hydrogen production, few of the plans are in advanced stages. P2X Solutions, a private Finnish company, announced last year that it would invest around 70 million euros in the 20 megawatt hydrogen and synthetic methane production plant in Harjavalta, southwest Finland.
The facility, set to be completed in 2024, will open the market for Finnish green hydrogen, according to the company's chairman Esa Harmala. Finland announced plans last June to build a hydrogen transmission network to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen its energy security following its decision to stop using Russian gas due to the war in Ukraine.
“The actual construction of hydrogen projects that begins here is part of the positive change that is ongoing in the energy industry but which has, for now, been overshadowed by the energy crisis,” said Finland's Minister of Economic Affairs, Mika Lintila, at the laying of the facility's foundation stone.
