Finland with high potential to produce green hydrogen for central Europe – report
Clean Energy Wire
There is a significant potential in the northern Baltic states, especially in Finland, to produce green hydrogen for export to central Europe, said a report by certifier and consultancy DNV, which was commissioned by gas grid operator Gascade. In Finland, the export potential is 70 TWh of hydrogen per year by 2050, which corresponds to around 2.1 million tonnes of the fuel, the report said. Due to the high proportion of renewable electricity in the country’s power grid, production costs (LCOH = levelised cost of hydrogen) could be comparatively low, Gascade said in a press release. However, production is highly dependent on the respective national energy plans. In addition, the grid operator emphasised that a combined onshore and offshore transport infrastructure would have to be built, which required investment to the tune of 12 billion euros.
Germany is betting on green hydrogen (produced from renewable electricity) as a sustainable energy source to complement intermittent wind and solar electricity generation in the future. However, as the country has limited potential to produce the fuel itself due to unfavourable renewables conditions, it is projected to import a large share of its needs from other countries.
