Flexens, Lhyfe and CIP to build hydrogen production in Åland
Flexens, Lhyfe and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are to start developing a large-scale hydrogen production facility in Åland. The project will combine zero-emission hydrogen production with offshore wind power, which will be built in the Åland Islands with a capacity of several gigawatts. Final investment decisions will be taken later.
Both the hydrogen and the electricity produced will be used in Åland and the wider European region, thus supporting the energy security and CO2 emission reduction objectives of Åland and the EU.
The Åland Energy Island project will be designed in cooperation with the local government and other local stakeholders to maximise the benefits for Åland.
CIP is the world's largest fund manager specialising in renewable energy investments and a significant player in offshore wind, green hydrogen and energy islands. Lhyfe brings expertise and capabilities in developing, designing and operating onshore and offshore hydrogen plants in Europe. Lhyfe has one operational plant in France and seven plants under construction in Sweden, France and Germany. Lhyfe operates the world's first offshore hydrogen plant (Sealhyfe), powered by a floating wind turbine. Flexens is a strong regional developer of hydrogen projects. As a company originally from Åland, it brings local knowledge of hydrogen and infrastructure development in Åland and insight into how a project can benefit the local energy system.
In line with the objectives of the Åland Provincial Government and the Sunnanvind project, the consortium will create significant added value for Åland regarding both social and economic benefits by ensuring local participation and employment in the project and related activities. In addition, the Åland Energy Island project will contribute to Åland's ambition to become a fully green energy-based society, while considering the protection of the islands' terrestrial and marine environment.
“The development of the Åland Energy Island project will provide a value increasing route to market for the regional offshore wind supporting the ambitions of Åland regarding local value and job creation as well as supporting the energy transition and energy independence of the wider region. The strong complementary capabilities represented by the consortium partners enable the Åland Energy Island integrating offshore wind and hydrogen facilities to be structured and developed with the environmental, economic, and social interests of Åland in mind”, says Thomas Dalsgaard, partner at CIP.
“This partnership with CIP is a great recognition of Lhyfe’s ability to develop large-scale onshore and offshore projects in the Nordic countries: it takes us to the next level. This project demonstrates how hydrogen can fit into a vast integrated renewable energy system with its capacity to store and transform renewable electricity. It’ll be a great role model for all Europe”, says Taia Kronborg, Chief Business Officer at Lhyfe.
Flexens was founded around the test and demonstration project ”Smart Energy Åland” and has in that process developed an in depth understanding of both the Åland society and its energy system. “We see an unprecedented opportunity to create and expand renewable energy related activities on Åland into a skills and knowledge based hub for the offshore based energy future in the whole Baltic Sea region”, says Berndt Schalin from Flexens.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Founded in 2012, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) today is the world’s largest dedicated fund manager within greenfield renewable energy investments and a global leader in offshore wind. The funds managed by CIP focuses on investments in offshore and onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, storage, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
CIP manages eleven funds and has to date raised approximately EUR 25 billion for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from more than 150 international institutional investors. CIP has approximately 400 employees and 12 offices around the world.
For more information, visit www.cip.com
About Lhyfe
Lhyfe is a European group devoted to energy transition, and a producer and supplier of green and renewable hydrogen. Its production sites and portfolio of projects intend to provide access to green and renewable hydrogen in industrial quantities and enable the creation of a virtuous energy model capable of decarbonising entire sectors of industry and transport.
In 2021, Lhyfe inaugurated the world's first industrial-scale green hydrogen production plant to be interconnected with a wind farm. In 2022, Lhyfe inaugurated the world's first offshore green hydrogen production pilot platform.
Lhyfe is represented in 12 European countries and had 192 staff at the end of June 2023. The company is listed on the Euronext market in Paris (ISIN: FR0014009YQ1 – LHYFE).
For more information, visit Lhyfe.com
About Flexens
Flexens was created in 2018 as the result of an extensive research program and the cooperation of leading energy sector stakeholders in Northern Europe. The mission is to become a market-leading company in this rapidly growing renewable energy sector, capitalizing on the skills and capabilities created in building the world-leading RES testbed and demo, Smart Energy Åland.
Today, Flexens employs 21 skilled professionals and has obtained the core competencies required for fulfilling its mission. This mission aims to create, develop, and implement scalable, integrated, affordable, and self-sustained energy systems through power-to-X projects, all based on a 100% renewable energy mix. In March 2023, Lhyfe announced the acquisition of a 49% stake in Flexens, becoming the company's largest shareholder.
For more information, visit www.flexens.com
