North Ostrobothnia in Finland should be able to produce at least 10% of the EU’s green hydrogen in 2030, according to a study by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.
Its significant wind power capacity makes North Ostrobothnia a very promising region for hydrogen production, the report states.
Decentralised hydrogen production in connection with wind farms and the transmission of hydrogen through pipelines could also free up electricity transmission network capacity and rationalise land use.
In order to boost the hydrogen economy, broad cooperation between local actors is needed, the report concluded.
Hydrogen production from renewable energy in North Ostrobothnia could be enough to meet the targets set by the Finnish government’s Hydrogen Policy Statement, in which Finland aims to produce at least 10%, or one megatonne, of the EU’s zero-emission hydrogen in 2030.
The region’s renewable electricity production continues to grow strongly, and wind and solar power can be used to produce hydrogen from water with no emissions.
In addition to the already significant wind power capacity, planned wind farm projects will amplify wind energy production in North Ostrobothnia.
However, the report found that limited electricity transmission capacity may put the brakes on increasing wind and hydrogen generation capacity in North Ostrobothnia.
In the future, large amounts of energy could be cost‑effectively transported in the region if hydrogen, produced in a decentralised manner in wind farms, were to be transported by pipeline, for example from inland to the coast for final use as hydrogen or as a raw material to produce Power-to-X products, according to the research.
Such hydrogen production could also free up transmission grid capacity for new wind farms and building hydrogen pipelines requires much less land than building high voltage transmission lines, it added.