Following the recently reported favorable EU Innovation Fund grant decision of EUR 88 million for Neste’s clean hydrogen project at the Porvoo refinery in Finland, Neste has completed the grant agreement procedure with CINEA and the European Commission.
The ‘SHARC’ project uses electrolysis and carbon capture and storage (CCS) methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the refinery quickly and efficiently. Neste’s project is still in the feasibility stage, with no final investment decision yet made and operations set to begin in the mid-2020s.
In the first ten years of operation, the Porvoo refinery will be able to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 4 million tons thanks to this transformation initiative. By speeding up the green transition, the initiative will help Finland and the EU meet their climate goals, and it will play a key part in Neste’s goal of carbon-neutral output by 2035.
“We are honored to be in the forefront of hastening Europe’s energy transformation. Neste is a pioneer in harnessing clean hydrogen to change industrial production through the SHARC project. The research will also provide the groundwork for future carbon dioxide usage and, for example, the manufacture of electric fuels at the Porvoo refinery,” says Lars Peter Lindfors, Neste’s SVP Innovation.
“This initiative is a critical component of our efforts to achieve carbon neutrality and transform the Porvoo refinery into Europe’s most sustainable refinery by 2030.” We will make a significant contribution to Finland’s climate aims by restructuring our present hydrogen production and absorbing emissions from the refinery. Neste’s future success will be built on SHARC, according to Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President of Oil Products at Neste.
“CINEA is pleased to sign the funding agreement for the SHARC project, which is one of the first seven large-scale Innovation Fund initiatives. I am certain that the SHARC project, which will combine green and blue hydrogen generation with carbon capture technology, has a lot of promise to cut GHG emissions. Dirk Beckers, Director of CINEA, states, “I am looking forward to observing the progress and implementation of this initiative.”
