ESL Shipping, a subsidiary of the Aspo Group, has become the first customer-side stakeholder in the Botnia Link hydrogen project.
As previously stated, the collaboration is expected to strengthen ESL Shipping’s strategic roadmap toward fossil-free shipping, as well as Botnia Link H2, which now covers the entire hydrogen value chain.
The Botnia Link H2 project is a collaboration between Uniper, ABB AB, the Port of Lule, and Lule Energi. The project’s goal is to produce and market fossil-free hydrogen as a fuel, electricity, and heat generation alternative to customers in the transportation and industrial sectors, thereby speeding up the transition to a sustainable society in Lule and Sweden.
ESL Shipping has already invested more than EUR 200 million in order to achieve its ultimate goal of providing 100% fossil-free shipping solutions. It also revealed a goal of achieving net zero CO2 operations by 2050 in December 2021.
Co-funding from the public is critical to the project’s success. The partners have applied to the Swedish Energy Agency to be considered as a candidate for the IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest), an EU instrument that will kick-start the hydrogen economy in 2021.
The partners estimate that once the hub is up and running, it will reduce CO2 emissions in Sweden by up to 235,000 tons per year.
