LNG

Verso Energy has reserved a site for a new plant to produce hydrogen (H2) and biogenic synthetic fuels at the Port of Oulu, in northern Finland. Similar production sites exist in various parts of France, and Verso's synfuels production process combines green H2 with carbon dixoide (CO2) recovered from nearby paper and pulp mills.

Electricity in Finland is among the cheapest in Europe: In the first half of 2024, the price of electricity for non-household customers in Finland was the lowest in the European Union at just €0.0939  per kilowatt-hour (€/kWh), given that most of it is derived from hydropower plants.

Using this electricity to produce H2 and related biogenic synfuels is becoming a lucrative business, not least because offtaker are situated very close to northern Finland - just a short shipping distance away across the Baltic Sea in Germany, Poland and Denmark, as well as in the Netherlands and the UK.

Cheap electricity, large talent pool

Asked why Verso chose Oulo as a location for its latest hydrogen plant, CEO Antoine Huard said "the region around the Finish port town is attractive because it provides an abundance of affordable renewable energy and biogenic carbon dioxide.”

In addition, experienced chemical researchers at Oulo University alongside large R&D investments in the area, ensure a “sufficient talent pool,” the Verso CEO said, and this offers the French company potential customers and subcontractors.

And last but not least, the Port of Oulu, with its rail and road links, provides good connections to the rest of the world.

H2-derivative projects already set up

Several other hydrogen production and H2 derivative projects have already been initiated in the greater Oulu region: Gasgrid Finland is planning to establish a hydrogen transport infrastructure to connect Oulu’s hydrogen production with the rest of Finland and other countries in northern Europe.

Verso Energy is hence keen to get its project off the ground, though Mr Huard cautioned the latest “land reservation is only a preliminary decision,” – a final investment decision (FID) will be taken at a later stage.

Denmark, the pipeline natural gas and power market player involved in LNG trading and a bridge supplier of gas to Poland on the Baltic Pipe, has revealed its “mini tender round” for interested oil and gas companies to apply for a licence for a concession in the North Sea had flopped as the one company interested had withdrawn.

Demark, one of the few European Union members in northwest Europe without LNG import infrastructure, said the nation’s consumption of natural gas fell by 29 percent last year and contributed to overall energy consumption falling by 1.5 percent as the nation improved its energy self-sufficiency.

Sept 28 (LNGJ) - Kosan Crisplant of Denmark, project corporation supplier of gas equipment, has signed a detailed cooperation agreement with Korea LNG Solutions. The Danish and Korean companies will co-operate on the development, manufacturing and sale of LNG bunkering equipment for the small-scale and marine markets in Korea over a four-year period. The collaboration between the two was initiated in Copenhagen with the intention of exploring possibilities within the LNG market. “We have a lot to gain from this collaboration in the Korean market while at the same time contributing to the industry as a whole,” said Kosan Crisplant LNG manager Lars Sall.