Pirkanmaa seeks its role in national and international hydrogen value chains

If the ongoing wind power projects are completed, Pirkanmaa will produce around 7000 GWh of electricity from wind power per year from 2030 onwards. If the total electricity consumption in Pirkanmaa in 2030 were the same as in 2019, i.e. about 6000 GWh, this could leave about 1000 GWh of additional electricity per year for hydrogen production in Pirkanmaa, if purchased electricity, which is not yet completely fossil-free, were to be completely abandoned. This amount of electricity would produce about 380 GWh or 0.38 TWh of hydrogen. By comparison, according to the Hydrogen Economy Strategy published by the Hydrogen Cluster, a total of 12-98 TWh of hydrogen could be produced in Finland in 2035.

Sitra estimates that electricity consumption in Finland will increase by more than 20% by 2035 if the necessary measures are taken to achieve the carbon neutrality target by then. In Pirkanmaa, this would mean an increase in electricity consumption to around 7200 GWh. In this case, green hydrogen could not be produced without buying electricity from outside to meet the region's total electricity demand. This could be a legal barrier to hydrogen production in Pirkanmaa, as the EU currently requires that from 2028 onwards, renewable energy used for hydrogen production must be "additional" to qualify as green hydrogen.

Several temporal and geographical conditions exist for renewable electricity to be "additional". For example, a power plant generating electricity for a hydrogen plant must have started operation no more than 36 months before the hydrogen plant purchasing electricity from it, and cooperating power plants and hydrogen plants must be located in the same bidding zone. Finland is a single bidding zone, so the additionality of renewable electricity is primarily determined at the level of Finland as a whole, and the use of purchased electricity in Pirkanmaa does not necessarily preclude the use of locally produced electricity for hydrogen production. However, national legislation may impose stricter geographical constraints on hydrogen production than the EU, which will affect the hydrogen production potential in Pirkanmaa. The development of national regulation will depend on the electricity grid and other criteria for the "additionality" of renewable electricity.

If, for some reason, electricity consumption were not to increase, or if there were no need to abandon purchased electricity completely, an extra 1000 GWh of clean electricity could, as things stand today, produce about 380 GWh or 11.4 million kilograms of hydrogen per year in Pirkanmaa in 2030. The calculation assumes that hydrogen would be produced using current alkaline and PEM electrolysers, which require about 50 kWh of electricity to produce one kilogram of hydrogen. One kilogram of hydrogen contains about 33.3 kWh of energy, which means that 67% of the electricity used to produce the hydrogen can currently be recovered. In the future, the efficiency of electrolysers will likely increase, which could increase the hydrogen production potential in Pirkanmaa.

Another assumption in the calculation is that the electrolysers used in Pirkanmaa would operate for 5000 hours per year. The current electrolysers can produce hydrogen for 2000-7500 hours per year, so it is assumed that the most efficient and expensive electrolysers would not be used.

Calculating the production potential of green hydrogen reliably is very challenging because it is influenced by several unknown variables, such as the future economic situation and electrification of society, the development of technology and its price, changing weather conditions and changing legislation. However, the indicative estimate of the hydrogen production potential in Pirkanmaa that I have calculated indicates that the role of Pirkanmaa in the hydrogen value chains will not be dominated by primary production. I will discuss the different hydrogen production scenarios in Pirkanmaa in more detail in a Climate Spring blog series on the Council of Tampere Region website at the end of September.

Pirkanmaa should try to turn the low level of primary hydrogen production to its advantage by strongly profiling itself in other parts of the value chain in the future, but where? First, let's look at what hydrogen activities are already underway in the province.

Pirkanmaa has a wide range of traction activities underway

The Kemira plant in Sastamala produces hydrogen as a by-product of sodium chlorate production for the pulp industry, which is currently used to produce emission-free district heating for the residents of Äetsä. Pirkanmaa is keen to find other, possibly more economical uses for hydrogen in the future. For example, Nordic Ren-Gas is building a Power-to-Gas plant in Tarastenjärvi, which will start production in 2026 and will produce 35 000 tonnes of renewable synthetic methane, 18 000 tonnes of hydrogen and 600 GWh of district heat from waste heat per year. The plant will form part of Ren-Gas' ambition to produce around 20% of the fuel used by heavy transport in Finland and 8% of the country's district heating needs by 2030.

A hydrogen refuelling station for heavy transport is also planned in Pirkanmaa, which will be integrated into LEMENE's smart energy system in Lempäälä, which will be able to operate as a stand-alone island, if necessary, by disconnecting from the national grid. The hydrogen refuelling station will be linked to a small-scale hydrogen production plant. Flexens Oy Ab and Vireon Suomi Oy will carry out the project.

Other hydrogen activities in Pirkanmaa will be carried out, among others, by the Tampere University Community. The University of Tampere is studying the photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen, while TAMK is developing new composite materials and testing methods for hydrogen tank applications. In addition, many players are conducting their hydrogen studies to explore their potential in the accelerating hydrogen economy.

Pirkanmaa has many of the strengths needed for the hydrogen economy

A wide range of actors in Pirkanmaa, from companies to public organisations, have shown interest in participating in the hydrogen ecosystem. Indeed, Pirkanmaa's strengths in hydrogen are strongly linked to its diverse know-how. Pirkanmaa has many actors offering higher education, vocational education and training, and continuing education to meet the skills requirements of the energy transition and the RDI work required.

In addition, Pirkanmaa has a diverse range of process technology and manufacturing industries, such as manufacturers of engines, seals, valves, compressors, coatings, measuring instruments and machine tools, as well as a diversified metal and forestry industry that could have links to the hydrogen economy. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), among others, has estimated a large economic potential for the hydrogen economy, especially for manufacturers of instruments and machinery. In the hydrogen projects that have started in Pirkanmaa, the end-users are mainly in the transport sector.

Other strengths of Pirkanmaa are its central location and good accessibility by road, rail and air; before the hydrogen pipeline network and mass hydrogen transport, hydrogen will probably be transported mainly in pressurised tanks by trucks and rail. Tampere-Pirkkala airport, on the other hand, is a very interesting research area for the hydrogen economy in the longer term.

Pirkanmaa has, in addition to the above-mentioned strengths, a well-established electricity network and plenty of water for electrolysis. The province also has an existing biogas and natural gas pipeline network, which could facilitate the development of a hydrogen transmission infrastructure, depending on Gasgrid's plans, and an excellent district heating network to which waste heat from electrolysis can be transferred.

What are the challenges facing Pirkanmaa?

Pirkanmaa naturally also has challenges to overcome to boost the hydrogen economy. There are still uncertainties in the development of the hydrogen economy, particularly an egg-and-chicken problem in the business world. Who will dare to produce clean hydrogen before a strong demand exists for it? And who will dare or be able to develop products that require hydrogen before clean hydrogen is abundantly available? Is there a sufficient supply of skilled labour? Nor are there yet clear lines for public actors on, for example, how hydrogen should be zoned. There is no case law on this issue, and there is no legislation in Finland, for example, on the safety distance that should be set aside for hydrogen pipelines.

The challenge in Pirkanmaa is that the electricity transmission network in the province has weaknesses in the most potential wind energy areas, and there is not much space for wind or solar power plants, which limits the potential for green hydrogen production. The province's location, such as the distance from port areas, may also impose its constraints on the hydrogen economy.

The most significant industrial areas at present, which are the most potential locations for hydrogen plants from a provincial planning perspective, are also mainly located away from potential wind energy areas, which can be a challenge from a regulatory and grid perspective. Indeed, from an administrative and grid point of view, the lightest way to produce green hydrogen would be to connect a hydrogen production plant directly to a wind or solar power plant (up to 36 months old), so that the electricity needed for hydrogen production would not have to be transported through the grid at all. Fortunately, Fingrid has plans to strengthen the electricity transmission network in Pirkanmaa so that transmission problems do not become an obstacle to the hydrogen economy.

Final

Pirkanmaa is well placed to contribute to increasing the importance of clean hydrogen in the energy market and to find its role in national and international hydrogen value chains. The emphasis of the Pirkanmaa hydrogen ecosystem in these will become apparent as the actors involved in the project find each other during the project and the ecosystem is formed. However, the region's hydrogen economy potential has been tentatively identified, particularly in the transport, process technology industry and research, development and innovation sectors.

We are working enthusiastically on the hydrogen revolution and are pleased to see the growing interest in the potential of the hydrogen economy from various actors!

Join us to explore the hydrogen ecosystem of Pirkanmaa at the BotH2nia goes Pirkanmaa Field Tour and Vetyvoorumi on 19-20 September 2023. Participation in the joint events of BotH2nia and the Council of Tampere Region is free of charge. Programme, further information and registration at https://www.both2nia.com/en/events/future-events/both2nia-goes-pirkanmaa

This article was originally published in Finnish on the Pirkanmaa blog here: Pirkanmaan vetytalouspotentiaali on kirkastumassa - Pirkanmaan liitto

LinkedIn page of the Pirkanmaa Hydrogen Ecosystem: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pirkanmaan-vetyekosysteemi/

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