Kokkola set to become the decarbonisation capital of Finland | Power

A consortium including Flexens and Plug Power have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to advance the hydrogen economy in Kokkola, Finland.

Eleven parties signed the LOI, which aims to accelerate electrification and the industry by using clean hydrogen with the hydrogen ecosystem being built in Kokkola.

The LOI, signed in connection with Kokkola Material Week, will see a feasibility study conducted by Centrica University of Applied Sciences and draw up a fundable project, allowing Kokkola to begin building an ecosystem around clean energy, hydrogen and decarbonisation. Further cooperation will be completed by the University of Oulu, which was also involved in the LOI agreement.

Plug Power, Flexens, and Hycamite TCD Technologies are amongst the hydrogen operators in the project, with the latter two companies preparing hydrogen plant investments in Kokkola, while Hycamite is building an industrial-scale demonstration unit. The partners will cooperate with the BotH2nia network – which supports the development of a hydrogen valley in Finland.

Matti Malkamäki, Chairman of the Board of Hycamite TCD Technologies, said, “Internationally, good examples of the rapid rise of the hydrogen economy can be found, for example, in Groningen in the Netherlands, North America in Texas and Edmonton, and Japan around Tokyo.

“What unites these areas is the cooperation between industry, smaller service providers, and the public sector. That is precisely what has made Kokkola Industrial Park an internationally significant centre of expertise in the chemical industry.”

Other companies participating in the project include Kokkola-based logistics group Ahola Group; Technology company Huld – which develops solutions and software for the hydrogen industry; Kokkolan Energia; and the port operators will be Kokkolan Satama and Oy M. Rauanheimo Ab and its sister companies.

Paula Erkkilä, Managing Director of the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce, said, “The examples listed above are the practical actions based on which the hydrogen and low-carbon ecosystem and, for examples, the hydrogen distribution infrastructure, start to be built piece by piece. At the same time, the opportunities to get new international partners into the ecosystem are increasing.”

Plug Power has been evaluating the feasibility of a large-scale green ammonia and liquid hydrogen project in Kokkola since May (2023). The site will generate 85tpd of liquid green hydrogen and up to 700kt of green ammonia per year, utilising 1GW of electrolysers. The produced hydrogen will be used for local use and for export to western Europe and the Port of Kokkola.

Read more: Plug Power to develop 2.2GW of green hydrogen projects in Finland

Benjamin Haycraft, EVP at Plug Power, added, “Decarbonisation requires forerunners that show leadership in the development of solutions. The Kokkola project is a perfect example of the type of essential teamwork required to scale low-carbon solutions.”