The Finnish renewable energy company Tuulialfa Oy has established a subsidiary Vetyalfa Oy to promote Finland’s goals as a producer of green hydrogen. The companies are collaborating to develop green hydrogen production plants from wind power and solar power. In addition, the companies will permit production plants for further processed products (e-methanol, e-methane, ammonia) and electricity storage projects in connection with hydrogen plants.
The goal of Vetyalfa Oy is to enable annual hydrogen production of 400,000 tonnes in 2030, i.e. approximately 40 per cent of Finland’s total target, and to increase production steadily as the market opens. Together, Tuulialfa and its subsidiary Vetyalfa will be able to build a unique value creation chain for the market.
Industry needs hydrogen for the production of green steel and fuel refining, for example. Hydrogen is an ideal fuel for the climate, as its combustion produces only water vapour in addition to energy. ”Hydrogen is a very attractive energy transmitter,” says Tuulialfa’s CEO Antti Tanskanen.
The separation of hydrogen and its synthetic derivatives, such as liquid fuels, are already ideally suited to our current way of using energy. Tanskanen believes that integration is easy, and he believes that technological development will enable humanity to move towards a society that relies on renewable energy.
”This energy transition should be promoted and accelerated. In Europe, we want to secure access to energy and, at the same time, reduce dependence on unstable fossil fuel producing countries. EU-level guidance to promote the energy transition is desirable and is already underway.”
Vetyalfa Oy can utilise Tuulialfa’s extensive portfolio (6,000 MW), mainly based on wind farms, as a source of green renewable energy. ”Our responsibility with this capacity is to leverage our expertise further down the value chain. In this unique value chain, we can utilise our own renewable energy capacity directly for hydrogen separation, without intermediaries or uncertainty about the availability of energy.”
Hydrogen refining creates industry and strengthens security of supply
”Our projects strengthen security of supply and promote the location of industry that supports sustainable development in Finland. Our way of building a green hydrogen economy also supports the vitality of municipalities,” Antti Tanskanen adds.
Hydrogen alfa’s goal is to commercialise the projects already in 2028. Tanskanen estimates that Vetyalfa Oy will publish its first hydrogen projects this year.
Green hydrogen already plays a key role in several international agreements, such as the Paris Agreement on climate change (2015) and the European Commission’s Green Deal (2019). In February 2023, the Finnish Government approved a decision according to which Finland aims for a production share of at least 10% of all green hydrogen in the EU by 2030. The launch of Vetyalfa Oy supports this.
Finland is predicted to be one of the most competitive countries in Europe in green hydrogen production due to low production costs and sustainably sourced raw materials – water and renewable energy. The national grid company Fingrid and relatively consistent licensing practices are also among Finland’s assets.
Further information and contacts:
Antti Tanskanen, CEO.
Tel. +358 44 977 0409 antti.tanskanen@tuulialfa.fi
Reija Knuutila, Business Area Director.
Tel. +358 50 379 3735 reija.knuutila@vetyalfa.fi
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Tuulialfa Oy is a hybrid renewable energy project developer and a design agency focusing on electricity network balancing system projects, with more than a dozen ongoing projects in Northern Finland.