Energiequelle has received planning consent for its Oulu Green Hydrogen Park project in Finland.
The first phase of the project includes the construction of a hydrogen production plant (pictured) with a maximum capacity of 5MW and a hydrogen refuelling station for buses and heavy commercial vehicles.
In the next phase, the capacity of the hydrogen production plant would be increased by to 10-50MW and hydrogen exports via the planned hydrogen pipeline and the port of Oulu could be an option, if the needed infrastructure is available.
In the third phase, production would be further increased to an additional capacity of 100-500MW.
The schedule and full size of the project is highly depending on the market situation and the infrastructure available in the selected new greenfield site.
“If the right market conditions are met, we expect the first phase to be ready by 2028.
“However, this is a major industrial project and investment, so the planning reservation we have now received is only one of the first steps towards making concrete investment decisions.
“In projects of this size, planning and studies are always carried out carefully,” said Karl Schultheis, Head of New Business Development at Energiequelle Finland.
The City of Oulu has reserved a total of three new hydrogen production and processing plants (including the Energiequelle project) on the same industrial site, with a combined potential capacity of maximum 1500MW.
“We believe that Oulu’s strategy of bundling several hydrogen production operators in the same area is the right one, as it supports the development of hydrogen transmission infrastructure in the region and sends a clear message to the energy-intensive industry that they can count on hydrogen production in the region in the future.
“This is exactly the kind of predictable investment environment and confidence-building policies we hope to see from local, national and European decision-makers”, said Nils Borstelmann, Managing Director of Energiequelle Finland.
The Oulu Green Hydrogen Park project is Energiequelle’s first public hydrogen project in Finland.
In February, the group unveiled and opened the HY.City.Bremerhaven project in Germany, which was inaugurated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The Finnish state-owned gas transmission system operator Gasgrid Finland is planning to establish a hydrogen transport infrastructure to connect Finland and Europe. In January 2025, all Gasgrid’s three hydrogen transport infrastructure projects in Baltic Sea area were awarded financial support from the European Union.
The Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project is developing hydrogen infrastructure connecting Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and German markets.
The Nordic Hydrogen Route project is developing a hydrogen infrastructure between Finland and Sweden along the coastline of the Bothnian Bay.
The Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector project is developing an offshore hydrogen infrastructure to connect the Finnish, Swedish and Central European markets.