Neste closes grant-agreement process for clean-hydrogen project in Finland

Neste Corp. has closed the grant-agreement process with the Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency of the European Commission, following the earlier EU Innovation Fund grant decision of 88 million euros to Neste’s clean-hydrogen project, dubbed “the SHARC” project, at the Porvoo refinery in Finland. Hydrogen is an essential element in refining for desulfurization of diesel fuel as well as hydrotreating fats, oils and greases to make renewable diesel.

The SHARC project introduces electrolysis and carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions that allow the quick and efficient reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the refinery. According to Neste, the project is still in the feasibility stage and the company has not made a final investment decision yet. If approved, Neste plans to start operations sometime in next few years.

The project could lead to the reduction of more than 4 million tons of CO2 emissions at the Porvoo refinery in the first 10 years of operation, Neste stated, and it would contribute to reaching both Finland’s and the EU’s climate targets by accelerating the green transition. Furthermore, the clean-hydrogen project would play a major role in the company’s target of carbon-neutral production by 2035. “We are proud to be in the forefront of accelerating the European energy transition,” said Lars Peter Lindfors, senior vice president of innovation at Neste. “With the SHARC project, Neste is pioneering in transforming industrial production by using clean hydrogen. The project will also build a foundation for the utilization of carbon dioxide and, for example, the production of electric fuels at the Porvoo refinery in the future.”

Markku Korvenranta, executive vice president of oil products at Neste, added that the project will help make the Porvoo site the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. “By reforming our current hydrogen production and capturing emissions from the refinery, we will be strongly contributing to Finland’s climate targets,” Korvenranta said. “SHARC will be one of the cornerstones of the future success of Neste.”

The project is one of the first seven large-scale projects assisted by the EU Innovation Fund, according to Dirk Beckers, CINEA director. “I am convinced that the SHARC project has great potential to reduce GHG emissions as it will combine green and blue hydrogen production with carbon-capture technology,” Beckers said. “I am looking forward to following the evolution and the implementation of this project.”