OMV starts up new green-hydrogen facility at Schwechat refinery in Austria

Photo: OMV

OMV announced April 30 the successful start-up of its 10-megawatt green-hydrogen production plant located at the Schwechat refinery near Vienna, the largest of its kind in Austria.

Approximately 25-million euros (USD$28.4 million) have been invested in the facility, which has the capacity to produce up to 1,500 metric tons of green hydrogen per year.

The green hydrogen will be used to produce more sustainable fuels and chemicals, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel, also known as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO).

Photo: OMV

OMV’s new 10-megawatt polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer is powered entirely by renewable electricity generated from wind, hydro and solar.

This innovation leads to an annual savings of up to 15,000 metric tons of CO2-emissions equivalent to the CO2 consumption of 2,000 people a year.   

“With the start-up of Austria’s largest electrolysis plant, we are reinventing how essentials we use in everyday life are produced sustainably,” said Martijn van Koten, an OMV board member. “Green hydrogen is at the heart of this transformation, serving as a critical component in producing fuels and chemicals while advancing the decarbonization of our Schwechat site. By building robust local production and supply chains for green hydrogen in Europe, OMV is not only advancing climate goals but also safeguarding industrial progress. The expertise gained from this initiative will act as a springboard for pioneering projects, laying the foundation for a cleaner, more resilient tomorrow.”

Aligned with European climate targets, OMV has set a goal of becoming net zero by 2050 at the latest.

This will be supported by flagship transformation projects in areas such as geothermal energy, sustainable aviation fuel and chemical recycling.

A central component of this transformation is the production and use of green hydrogen, generated through electrolysis, to support the production processes at refineries.

The plant is certified according to the Renewable Energy Directive (EU) 2018/2001 (RED II) for producing renewable fuel of nonbiological origin (RFNBO).

It is supported by the Climate and Energy Fund Austria, and a part of the WIVA P&G-Hydrogen Initiative Model Region Austria Power & Gas.

The support from Kommunalkredit during the development phase of the plant helped ensure the project’s successful advancement and completion.

Source: OMV

Making green hydrogen through PEM electrolysis involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable electricity.

At the anode, oxygen and positively charged hydrogen protons are generated.

These protons pass through the PEM and, at the cathode, they combine with electrons to form hydrogen gas.

Since water consists of two hydrogen atoms for every oxygen atom, the process produces twice as much hydrogen as oxygen.