Wärtsilä has shown its Power-to-X technology for renewable energy to Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin during his tour of Soletair Power’s facilities in Lappeenranta, Finland.
The Power-to-X demonstration unit is a joint development project between Wärtsilä, Soletair Power and Q Power. It converts carbon dioxide (CO₂) captured from the indoor air into synthetic methane by combining hydrogen extracted from water and the carbon dioxide in a biomethanation process.
The Prime Minister was hosted by Jaakko Eskola, CEO of Wärtsilä Corporation, Matti Rautkivi, director, New business, Wärtsilä Energy, Petri Laaksonen, CEO of Soletair Power, and Ilkka Herlin, founder and chairman of the board of Q Power. All participated in the tour to see how the technology works in action.
During her provincial trip, Prime Minister Marin got acquainted with environmental technology research and applications that promote emission reductions and green transition.
“We are honored to have Prime Minister Sanna Marin visiting this pioneering demonstration unit, which is the first of its kind. We had exciting discussions about how smart technology enables sustainable societies. In cooperation with our partners Wärtsilä continues to invest in and develop technologies that will support the transition towards a 100% renewable energy future.”
Wärtsilä’s CEO Jaakko Eskola.
Soletair Power, Q Power and Wärtsilä are together pioneering Power-to-X technology. The means for replacing fossil fuels exist already today, and Power-to-X is one of the key components needed in the final stage of achieving a 100% renewable energy future, while mitigating climate change and driving towards a carbon neutral society.
This Power-to-X unit allows the creation of carbon neutral and renewable synthetic fuels by capturing CO₂ from the air. In the future, fossil fuels will be replaced by these renewable synthetic fuels due to their lower impact on the climate. Power-to-X can decarbonize industries, transportation, and the energy sector while utilizing existing infrastructures.
“The big driver for these technologies is the availability of ‘free’ excess electricity from wind and solar power. Hydrogen is relatively easy and cheap to produce, but it has low energy density and is thus expensive to transport or store as such. This explains the big push towards Power-to-X types of technologies, where hydrogen is further synthesized into methane or methanol, which are easier to handle and use in energy production.”
Matti Rautkivi, director, New Business, Wärtsilä Energy.
