Two different hydrogen production technologies will be tested in the pilot plant being built in Loviisa, says Satu Sipola, who is responsible for the P2X business.
Energy company Fortum invested in a new hydrogen production pilot plant in Loviisa. The value of the test facility is 17 million euros, and it is financed entirely from Fortum’s research and development funds.
“This is a technical pilot project, which will be implemented next to the Loviisa nuclear power plant on our own plot,” says Fortum’s head of P2X business Fairy tale Sipola.
Construction in the Källa area will start this summer, and the hydrogen test facility is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2025.
Sipola describes the Kalla pilot plant as Fortum’s first step in a deeper mapping of hydrogen’s business opportunities. In order to accumulate know-how, the company implements the pilot plant project mainly on its own without external consultants.
The sentences.
The energy company Fortum is investing in a new hydrogen test facility next to the Loviisa nuclear power plant.
PHOTO: Timo Pylvänäinen
“We are looking for technical and financial prerequisites for how to turn this into a profitable business,” Sipola says.
Hydrogen produced with clean electricity is seen as a significant part of the green transition, when fossil hydrocarbons can be replaced with clean hydrogen.
Two technologies for the pilot plant
Hydrogen is produced by splitting water into its components, i.e. hydrogen and oxygen. This takes place in electrolyzers, of which there will be two in the Kalla experimental facility. Both have a capacity of one megawatt, but are different in function.
“We are researching two different electrolyzer technologies, i.e. alkali and PEM technology. We want to study both of these mature technologies,” says Sipola.
Alkaline electrolysis is the oldest and most common in hydrogen production, but the advantage of PEM technology is that production is more flexible and can be adjusted faster. PEM technology is newer and has not yet been used in large-scale production.
Fact
Fortum researches new technologies
Fortum clarified its strategy in February. It investigates new business opportunities, for example in the field of clean hydrogen.
The entry is now a little more relaxed than in the one published a year ago, where Fortum said it wanted to promote the utilization of clean hydrogen in the Nordic countries together with industrial customers.
Nuclear power generation is one of Fortum’s core business activities. The company examines nuclear power’s longer-term investment opportunities in its two-year report.
As part of the nuclear power survey, Fortum is also looking at small modular SMR reactors. The report is due to be completed at the end of this year.
In 2023, Fortum’s research and development expenses were 56 million euros, or 0.8 percent of turnover.
“We believe that we can get an idea of how things should be done at the concept level, even though they are now in the relatively small but still megawatt class,” says Sipola.
In connection with the use of the pilot plant, not only technical information on production technology and its optimization, but also experiences on operation, maintenance and safety are collected. In addition, a filling station will be built in connection with the pilot plant, from which the hydrogen will be transferred to be sold to industrial customers.
Fortum is still exploring its own place in the value chain
The Kalla experimental facility is supposed to be in use for about two years from the end of 2025 until 2028. Fortum’s strategy is to research hydrogen technology in stages in small-scale projects in the Nordic countries.
Sipola emphasizes that testing hydrogen production not only provides information on the design of larger plants, but also on the business opportunities of green hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives.
“Of course, we are thinking about a suitable place for us in the entire value chain. Would we become a hydrogen producer or a partner in the next stages of value chains? What would be a good market position for us?”
The pilot plant investment may enable Fortum’s current hydrogen strategy to be updated after 2028, but according to Sipola, the strategy evaluation is primarily influenced by the market situation.
“Of course, it is possible that we will re-evaluate the strategy registration for hydrogen earlier than after 2028. But it has more to do with what kind of business opportunities we see.”