25 April 2022

Large-scale hydrogen infrastructure to go cross-border in the Gulf of Bothnia with potential to speed up green transition

Gasgrid Finland and Swedish Nordion Energi announced the launch of the Nordic Hydrogen Route. The Nordic hydrogen route plans to connect production with demand locations via a pipeline that follows the Gulf of Bothnia coastline, with major branches to expected demand centres such as Gällivare or Kiruna. The goal for the infrastructure is to be operational by 2030, with a final length of approximately 1,000 km, at a cost of SEK 25 to 30 billion. 

Olli Sipilä, CEO of Gasgrid Finland said "In addition to catalysing regional economic growth and new industrial investments, the Nordic hydrogen route will make a significant contribution to Finland and Sweden's ambitious climate neutrality goals. It will also enable Finland and Sweden to become leading producers of clean alternative fuels for the aerospace industry by transporting hydrogen to new production sites”.

With new power lines taking 10 years to get planning permission and have installed, the CEO of Nordion Energi, Hans Kreisel, believes that an alternative could be to produce hydrogen gas out at the wind farms and then transport the energy in the form of gas to the industries, commenting “The large wind turbines planned in the Gulf of Bothnia are enormous. You can compare with a nuclear power plant in effect. It will be two to three times cheaper to transport energy as hydrogen than as electricity.”

Insights, Svenska Dagbladet

OECD says Norway unlikely to reach its’ climate target

Norway is unlikely to hit its 2030 climate targets, the OECD states in a new, major review of Norwegian climate and environmental policy. At today's rate, Norway is instead set to cut emissions by 20%, the OECD estimates, only half that of its 40% target and even further off the more ambitious 55% aspiration. According to the report, Norway has one of the highest material consumption in the world, and faces significant challenges in achieving a circular economy.

The Minister of Climate and Environment, Espen Barth Eide described the OECD report as a useful tool in the work of achieving the Norwegian climate goals. “The report recognizes important Norwegian advances in green conversion, including through electrification of the transport sector and increased CO2 tax. At the same time, it points out that we have points for improvement in circular economy and land management, and that we should achieve a more comprehensive and integrated environmental management across different sectors. This is, in my view, wise and correct input that I support,” he said.

OECD, Adressavisen

From our sponsor

Vattenfall and BASF participate in offshore wind farm tender with biodiversity conditions

Vattenfall will participate in the offshore wind farm tender for Hollandse Kust West (HKW) Sites VI and VII, partnering with BASF for Site VI. The offshore wind farms are of great significance for both companies in achieving their sustainability goals. The renewable electricity from Hollandse Kust West would be another important step towards Vattenfall’s ambition to create fossil-free living within one generation and would support BASF’s ambitious goal to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

Press release

Gothenburg energy investment Gobigas is dismantled

Gothenburg Energy's billion kronor project Gobigas was intended to produce renewable biogas for cars and industry. But there was never any commercial production. The plant has now begun to be dismantled - despite the market appetite for an alternative to Russian gas. It was hoped the Gobigas gas project would supply industry and thousands of cars with fossil-free fuel when the decision to start up the venture was made more than a decade ago. A demonstration facility was built in Ryahamnen with technology that converted forest waste into biogas.

But in 2015 the political wind changed. The Alliance parties demanded that the plan be suspended. Göteborg energi put the plant up for sale and had interested parties, but no sale. Among other things, it was then unclear whether Göteborg energi would be forced to repay the more than SEK 200 million they received from the Swedish Energy Agency if they terminated the project prematurely. Instead, Göteborg energi decided to mothball Gobigas, closing the facility, but preserving the opportunity to start up it again in the future or sell it on - when the conditions were more favourable. Now the owners of Göteborg Energi have made a decision and started dismantling the facility. The company is now considering whether to demolish everything or to try to sell parts. “It is partially dismantled and we use some of the equipment for other purposes. It is not operatable and we have no staff” says Engqvist. DN reports the cost to the municipality as SEK 2 billion and quotes the Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis (Tillväxtanalys) which shows that Swedish “strategic innovation programs” mainly benefit large companies and larger universities. It does not favour the renewal and transformation that society needs, and risks leading to lobbying and positioning rather than innovation, they conclude.

Goteborg Post, DN, Goteborg Energi

Svensk Exportkredit AB gives Preem Green loan to increase renewable fuels

Svensk Exportkredit (SEK) finances Preem's investment in the conversion of the Lysekil refinery with a credit facility of SEK 3 billion, with a green guarantee of 80% from the Debt Office. The aim is to promote green industrial investments and increase the share of renewable fuels. Sweden aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from domestic transport by at least 70% by 2030 compared to 2010. To achieve that goal, the proportion of renewable fuels needs to increase sharply. Preem's investment meets SEK's green criteria where the investment corresponds to the EU taxonomy for green economic activity and has a clear connection to change in and for Sweden.

Dagens Industri & Cision

PensionDanmark invests in Danish cleantech firm

PensionDanmark will be a new investor in Danish cleantech firm Stiesdal, which will develop floating foundations for offshore wind, technology for energy storage, PtX technology and pyrolysis plants for both capture and storage of CO2 from the atmosphere and production of green fuels. Stiesdal was founded in 2016. The company is headquartered in Give and has locations in Odense and Copenhagen. Stiesdal's four technologies all have the potential to contribute to the achievement of the global climate goals. For example, the company's floating foundations can make it possible to install offshore wind turbines regardless of the sea depth, and this can multiply the potential in offshore wind worldwide.

Dansk Byudvikling

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