Vetyalfa plans a hydrogen refinery in Kemijärvi
Vetyalfa is planning a large green hydrogen refinery in Kemijärvi, the Finnish Lapland. Producing hydrogen and further processed products with renewable electricity would create several hundred jobs in Eastern Lapland. The added value from the final products, which are produced from local wind power, solar power, and water, would remain within the region.
The refinery project is connected to a large Lapioselkä wind power project involving 200 wind turbines in Salla and Savukoski municipalities, which is run by Vetyalfa’s parent company, Tuulialfa. With the help of green electricity produced in Lapioselkä, a large-scale hydrogen refinery would be built in Kemijärvi, with an annual production of 150,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and a plant electrolyzer capacity of 1,000 MW.
The amount of hydrogen produced would roughly correspond to Finland’s total current hydrogen production. The plant would also enable the refining of hydrogen into synthetic fuels such as e-methanol and e-methane.
The value of the hydrogen refinery investment would be €1 billion at minimum, but depending on the scale of further processed products, the investment’s value could increase up to €3 billion.
In addition to wind power, the electrolyzer’s electrical power would be secured by building approximately 100 MWp of solar energy production to serve the refinery and by electricity procured from the main grid.
The City of Kemijärvi approved the project’s contract of lease on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. The City of Kemijärvi will consider the project planning initiative soon.
”The plant project is a significant step in utilizing Lapland’s renewable natural resources for valuable end products. The point is to advance the Lapioselkä wind power project with the mindset that it will enable other large-scale industrial investments in Lapland, such as the establishment of a plant utilizing hydrogen in the refined products. As a well-known industrial city, Kemijärvi is an ideal location for our plant,” says the Group CEO of Vetyalfa and Tuulialfa Antti Tanskanen.
“We can produce valuable further processed products from the northern wind power and hydrogen split from water to replace fossil-based products, enabling the market entry of future synthetic fuels. This brings significant added value to Lapland.”
The project area is located less than 10 kilometers west of the Kemijärvi center. The area is close to Fingrid’s main grid. The refinery operations require a plant area of about ten hectares. There are no permanent or holiday homes near the plant.
The plant water would be obtained from Lake Kemijärvi, about 10 kilometers away. One alternative option is to obtain it from the area groundwater. Water is then split into hydrogen by electrolysis in the plant. Based on preliminary studies, the impacts on the water system remain small. The EIA procedure starts in early 2025 and will investigate the impacts in more detail.
Hydrogen refinery in the green transition industrial city
The plant project will continue Kemijärvi’s long industrial history and pave the way for its reputation as a major green transition city.
”We hope the Vetyalfa project proceeds since it supports our new city strategy based on sustainable development very well. In our strategy, we want to see Kemijärvi as a competitive operating environment that draws growth from the bioeconomy. Hydrogen produced with renewable electricity and refining it to fossil-free fuels mitigates climate change, which is very important for us in the north. The project also supports the growth and creation of new companies, creates jobs, and increases tax revenue,” says Kemijärvi Mayor Dina Solatie.
During the construction phase, the plant would provide hundreds of jobs. Once the plant is running at 1,000 MW capacity, the production of hydrogen and its further processed products would provide 120 permanent direct jobs. There is also an alternative for smaller 200 MW capacity, which capacity would provide 40–60 jobs. The indirect employment effects would multiply since the extensive supply chain and a network of subcontractors would use plenty of intermediate products and services from other industries. This applies especially during the construction phase but also during on-site maintenance.
The plant will need an environmental permit, a water abstraction permit, and a building permit, with the licensing phase taking place during 2026–2027. The plant is estimated to be operative in 2030.
Vetyalfa is also prepared for the plant project to launch on a smaller scale with an electrolysis power of approximately 200 MW. The capacity option will be decided before the licensing phase, mainly depending on how the Lapioselkä wind power project, which is in the early stages of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), is progressing.
