Hydrogen in port and on land from Finnish wind and sun
By Marek Grzybowski
A center that uses renewable energy and hydrogen in a comprehensive manner In northern Finland, construction is underway. Vaasa, located on the Gulf of Bothnia, has focused on a hydrogen solution for generating and storing electricity. The city and companies operating in Vaasa have received EUR 14 million in investment support for the development of the project. A significant addition to the project is a new consortium led by the University of Vaasa, established at the end of 2024, with a budget of over EUR 8.5 million.
The storage and production of electricity will be based on the production of hydrogen, for which energy from renewable sources will be used. For this ambitious project, Vaasa received investment aid of over EUR 14 million from the Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in December 2021. Four entities in Vaasa will cooperate on a project to convert wind energy into hydrogen and electricity.
EPV Energy, Vaasan Sähkö and Wärtsilä aim to build a Power-to-X-to-Power system that will enable a new way of storing renewable energy. It will also enable the piloting of a hydrogen-based energy production solution that will be suitable for the global export market.
– This development project of unique size aims to produce hydrogen from renewable energy sources and store it for later use as fuel for electricity generation – emphasized Hans-Alexander Öst., Development Director at Vaasan Sähkö, and emphasized that the energy will be produced in a state-of-the-art engine power plant developed by Wärtsilä, informs EPV.
Öst explained after the funding for the project that “This solution will enable, for example, the use of renewable energy for the production of hydrogen when the demand for electricity is low. The use of the stored hydrogen for the production of electricity will be possible in a hydrogen-powered generator when the demand for electricity increases. This will provide much-needed flexibility in the electricity market.”
Participants of the I3-4 BLUE GROWTH project during the project presentation at Wärtsilä, source: Merinova, 2024
Hydrogen in the engine and system
– The novelty of the project is the combination of production, storage and use of renewable hydrogen in a power plant that will use hydrogen-powered engines. The production system will be integrated with the electricity market and the local heating network – Jukka Lehtonen, Vice President of Technology and Product Management at Wärtsilä Energy, explained the essence of the energy system, quotes EPV.
Lehtonen emphasizes that there is a technological challenge, because “a power plant with engine-driven generators must be designed and tested so that it is suitable for the use of hydrogen”. In his opinion, “The project represents a new way of thinking about the integration of systems for the use of renewable, emission-free fuels and will serve as a model for new opportunities on the global market”.
– The planned system includes an electrolysis plant for producing hydrogen from renewable electricity and water, a hydrogen storage facility and a hydrogen power plant for producing electricity from the stored hydrogen – describes the project Reetta Kaila, Director Sustainable Fuels and Environment at Wärtsilä Energy, informing that “The heat generated as a by-product of the processes will be directed to underground heat storage tanks to ensure supply to the district heating system”.
It was announced that the energy system of the future will consist of many different components. In addition to traditional production investments, much more needs to be done to keep the energy system under control.
Hydrogen electricity and heat
– A large part of the energy we use in the future will come from solar and wind power – predicts Niko Paaso, Vice President of EPV Power, who is responsible for separate electricity production by EPV Energy.
Paaso justifies this by saying that “Because the availability of new electricity will depend on nature, the new energy system will be more difficult to control, so we will need ways to store zero-emission electricity and use it to meet society’s energy needs.”
It is emphasized that hydrogen produced from electricity is one way to meet these requirements. The future hydrogen production facility is seen as an important part of energy generation and zero-emission solutions for heat and electricity generation. “In this case, the aim is to integrate heat from hydrogen and energy production into existing rock caves in the region to store heat, while maximizing the overall efficiency of the system,” explains Niko Paaso.
An important addition to the project is a new consortium led by the University of Vaasa, which was established at the end of 2024. It will study the hydrogen and argon energy cycle with the aim of achieving net zero emissions, reports the University of Vaasa News Hub.
Professor Maciej Mikulski with employees of the University of Vaasa, source: News Hub, 2024
Hydrogen and argon at the university
The Integrated Hydrogen-Argon Power Cycle (iHAPC) project consortium, led by the University of Vaasa, aims to revolutionise the energy sector by demonstrating a sustainable hydrogen-argon power cycle (H-APC) at a pilot scale. The concept aims to achieve unprecedented power generation efficiency with zero net emissions, the project authors explain.
The hydrogen-argon power cycle has the potential to have a significant impact on the energy sector. It enables the full valorisation of green hydrogen by burning it in an argon atmosphere together with oxygen obtained from electrolysis. Using argon and oxygen obtained from recirculation instead of air not only increases the efficiency of hydrogen combustion by 10-20%, but also allows for zero net emissions. Since no exhaust stack is needed, water is practically the only combustion product that can be reused as fuel within the concept.
The project consortium consists of research organisations and industrial companies. The three-year iHAPC project (2025-2027) has been given a budget of 8.55 million euros. The project is mainly financed by Business Finland, with the remaining funds coming from the companies and research institutes involved in the research. It is emphasized that “Together with the partners, the project will strengthen the global presence of Finnish technologies in the field of sustainable energy production”.
– The University of Vaasa plays a key role in promoting innovative energy solutions with a strong focus on sustainability. With our experience in fuel analysis, modeling and simulation, drive system testing and control development, we are well-prepared and excited to lead this project – informs Professor Maciej Mikulski from the University of Vaasa on the News Hub portal.
H2Excellence
H2Excellence from the Finnish side is implemented by Vamia, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (coordinator) and the Merinova cluster. Its aim is to create a Collaborative Platform of Excellence (CoVE) focused on the development of fuel cell and green hydrogen technologies. It is an educational project that is to prepare students to use hydrogen technologies in research and business practice.
The project started on June 15, 2023 and will be carried out until June 14, 2027. The education of students will take place at partner universities within the Erasmus+ KA3 Support for Policy Reform Centers of Vocational Excellence. The budget for the activities is close to EUR 4 million.
It is intended for training and development programs in order to provide education and develop the skills of students required in this sector. The centers of excellence are being developed in five European countries (Portugal, Spain, France, Finland and Italy).
The centres aim to integrate universities, companies and VET (Vocational Education and Training) providers in the regions, focusing on different parts of the hydrogen production chain. The aim is to develop transnational, joint curricula and ongoing learning also during the implementation of projects and the engineering profession.
Interaction between businesses and universities will be ensured in order to understand the latest technologies, develop exchange programmes for VET teachers, students and staff. Partnerships between companies and scientists will be developed, regional ecosystems will be mapped and integration with national and regional economic and innovation ecosystems will be established.
H2Excellence is implemented by 21 partners from seven EU countries participating in Erasmus+. The tasks are carried out in line with the EU objectives in the field of the Green Deal and energy transition. The project supports the creation of the necessary infrastructure for the development of professional excellence in the European hydrogen sector. According to its initiators and participants, “It will contribute to the development of the sector towards high-quality jobs and long-term career opportunities”. It also provides opportunities to prepare for operation in the conditions of an innovative and sustainable economy.