Dresden-based Sunfire GmbH has completed the installation of what the company claims is Finland's first industrial-scale electrolyzer. Around a year after the foundation stone was laid, the finished plant is now ready for operation in the town of Harjavalta. Hydrogen production is scheduled to start in the second half of the year. The Finnish project developer and operator of the plant has already found a customer for the hydrogen.
According to the operating company, the electrolyzer in Harjavalta is one of the hydrogen lighthouse projects in Europe. On Tuesday (February 13), Sunfire announced that the plant had been fully installed.
With the imminent commissioning of Sunfire's 20 MW pressurized alkaline electrolyser, P2X Solutions is setting "a milestone" for the development of the green hydrogen market in Finland.
Preparations for the commissioning of the plant are to begin in the coming months. Sunfire and P2X Solutions then expect the first production of green hydrogen in Harjavalta in the second half of the year. At full capacity, Finland's first electrolyzer will produce up to 400 kg of hydrogen per hour using energy from wind power.
Cooperation with Danisco Sweeteners
The green hydrogen is to be used for various applications in the chemical industry. To this end, Sunfire has also designed the pressurized alkaline electrolysis plant for methanation.
Last November, P2X Solutions signed the first offtake agreement with Danisco Sweeteners, a subsidiary of US-based International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. Danisco Sweeteners will use the green hydrogen at its plant in Kotka, Finland, to reduce CO₂ emissions in the production of the sweetener xylitol for the food industry.
The Finnish government is supporting the project: the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Finnish Climate Fund are providing a total of €36 million. P2X Solutions is planning a total investment of around €70 million.
