Neste to re-evaluate plans for green hydrogen/electrolyser in Finland

Materials firm Neste has decided to withdraw from investing into a 120 MW electrolyser project to produce renewable hydrogen at its Porvoo refinery in Finland. The decision follows the completion of the basic engineering phase, which commenced in May 2023.

The reasons behind the withdrawal are the company’s challenging market conditions and financial performance, requiring critical assessment of any new investments. Evaluation of this project has been impacted by the tight limitations on the use of renewable hydrogen in the refinery’s processes in fulfilling the Finnish national distribution obligation. These limitations prevent the full economic utilisation of electrolyser of this size.

“While we are discontinuing the initial renewable hydrogen project, we are actively evaluating alternative pathways for securing renewable hydrogen in Porvoo. Our ambition remains to utilise renewable hydrogen at the Porvoo refinery, contributing also to fulfillment of the Finnish renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) distribution obligation. Together with our partners, we continue the work to develop hydrogen ecosystems connected to our Porvoo refinery,” says Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President for Oil Products business unit at Neste.