Finnish power generation equipment supplier Wartsila has been awarded €1m to support its power-to-x research and development activity.
The company’s X-Ahead project aims to develop “deep expertise” of both technical and business potential of power-to-x, which will be used to enable a carbon-neutral economy in Finland.
State-run agency Business Finland granted the funding for X-Ahead which will kick-off later this year.
Wartsila will form and lead a network of universities, research industries, and small and medium-sized enterprises on a national, as well as a global scale within the X-Ahead project.
Power-to-x describes various emerging technologies that use renewable electricity or carbon dioxide captured from the air, or directly from emissions streams, in combination with hydrogen to create carbon-neutral and renewable synthetic fuels.
Wartsila energy business senior manager Tommi Rintamaki said: “Wartsila has been actively working on the power-to-x concept since 2018, during which we have gained a thorough general understanding of the technology.
“We are now building on this via the X-Ahead project, which will significantly improve the efficiency and feasibility of all processes relating to the development of power-to-x technology.
“It gives us a brilliant opportunity to speed up the move to a 100% renewable energy future.”