Finland has the potential to become one of Europe’s significant producers of hydrogen, according to a study by the country’s electricity and gas grid operators Fingrid and Gasgrid Finland.
About 90% of Finland’s electricity is already produced without emissions, and the price of electricity is among the lowest in Europe. Electricity is produced by hydropower, wind and nuclear.
“Finland’s potential for hydrogen production is easily sufficient for domestic needs and export,” said Fingrid head of strategic grid planning Mikko Heikkila.
Fingrid has already signed more than 5GW of connection agreements for projects scheduled for completion in 2022-2024 and has received a total of 150,000MW-worth of inquiries about joining the main grid.
Most of the inquiries are for onshore wind.
If all the projects pan out, they would produce about 500 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. Of this theoretical potential, nearly 450 TWh could be available for the needs of new industry, which would correspond to the production of more than 300 TWh of pure hydrogen.
Finland’s gas transmission network company, Gasgrid Finland, and the national grid operator Fingrid joined forces in the spring of 2021 to examine the possibilities of a hydrogen economy in Finland, as well as the role of the country’s energy infrastructure in enabling the use of hydrogen in energy production.
The recently published interim report of the “Energy Transmission Networks as enablers of a hydrogen economy and a clean energy system” project puts forward the opportunities offered by an electricity and hydrogen transmission infrastructure would have for the energy system.
“A hydrogen infrastructure pipeline can promote flexibility in the energy system, efficient energy transmission, and reduce risk to producers and consumers, once the infrastructure unites many producers and consumers with each other”, said Sara Karki, head of strategic analysis & RDI at Gasgrid Finland.
Gasgrid Finland has also taken part in the European Hydrogen Backbone group, comprising European gas transmission network operators. The group has created a vision for the development of a European hydrogen network.
According to the vision, a hydrogen pipeline network would gradually grow out of regional hydrogen valleys into an extensive international network.
The hydrogen network envisioned for the Bothnian Arc region would link hydrogen production emerging in the coastal areas of Finland and Sweden with areas with industrial demand.
According to the European Hydrogen Backbone vision the hydrogen pipeline could later extend from Finland all the way to Germany, which would enable the widespread export of hydrogen for the needs of industry in Central Europe.
Both Fingrid and Gasgrid Finland are part of the BotH2nia network, whose aim is to create a cross-border concentration of hydrogen industry to surround the Northern Baltic.