Kemijärvi, Lähtelänpalo

Vetyalfa is planning a large green hydrogen refinery in Kemijärvi in Lapland. Producing hydrogen and further processed products with renewable electricity would create several hundred jobs in the region. The added value from the final products, which are produced from local wind power, solar power, and water, would remain within the region.

 

 

Green hydrogen refinery in Kemijärvi in Lapland

The refinery project is connected to a large Lapioselkä wind power project involving 200 wind turbines in Salla and Savukoski municipalities, which is run by Vetyalfa’s parent company, Tuulialfa. With the help of green electricity produced in Lapioselkä, a large-scale hydrogen refinery would be built in Kemijärvi, with an annual production of 150,000 tonnes of green hydrogen and a plant electrolyzer capacity of 1,000 MW. Valuable further processed products can be produced from hydrogen to replace fossil-based products, enabling the market entry of future synthetic fuels. This brings significant added value to Lapland.

Depending on the scale of further processed products, the value of the hydrogen refinery investment would be EUR 1–3 billion.

The amount of hydrogen produced would roughly correspond to Finland’s total current hydrogen production. The plant would also enable the refining of hydrogen into synthetic fuels such as e-methanol and e-methane.

In addition to wind power, the electrolyzer’s electrical power would be secured by building approximately 100 MWp of solar energy production to serve the refinery and by electricity procured from the main grid.

The project area is located less than 10 kilometers west of the Kemijärvi center. The area is close to Fingrid’s main grid. The refinery operations require a plant area of about ten hectares. There are no permanent or holiday homes near the plant.

The plant water would be obtained from Lake Kemijärvi, about 10 kilometers away. One alternative option is to obtain it from the area groundwater. Water is then split into hydrogen by electrolysis in the plant. Based on preliminary studies, the impacts on the water system remain small. The EIA procedure starts in early 2025 and will investigate the impacts in more detail.

Hydrogen refinery in the green transition industrial city

The plant project will continue Kemijärvi’s long industrial history and pave the way for its reputation as a major green transition industrial city. It would bring constant tax revenue from real estate tax, municipal tax, and corporation tax, as well as income tax paid by the local workforce. The plant would also support the growth and creation of new companies, create jobs, and increase tax revenue.

During the construction phase, the plant would provide hundreds of jobs. Once the plant is running at 1,000 MW capacity, the production of hydrogen and its further processed products would provide 120 permanent direct jobs. There is also an alternative for smaller 200 MW capacity, which capacity would provide 40–60 jobs.

The indirect employment effects would multiply since the extensive supply chain and a network of subcontractors would use plenty of intermediate products and services from other industries. This applies especially during the construction phase but also during on-site maintenance.

The City of Kemijärvi will consider the project planning initiative at the turn of 2025. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure will start in early 2025.

The plant will need an environmental permit, a water abstraction permit, and a building permit, with the licensing phase taking place during 2026–2027. The plant is estimated to be operative in 2030.

Vetyalfa is also prepared for the plant project to launch on a smaller scale with an electrolysis power of approximately 200 MW. The capacity option will be decided before the licensing phase, mainly depending on how the Lapioselkä wind power project, which is in the early stages of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), is progressing.

LOCATION:

Kemijärvi,
Lähtelänpalo

Maximum capacity:

1,000 MW electrolyzer

Derivatives:

e-Fuels

STATUS:

In development

Project materials

Contact person:

Antti Tanskanen, Group CEO Vetyalfa and Tuulialfa, tel. +358 44 977 0409

Reija Knuutila, Business Director Vetyalfa, tel. +358 50 379 3735