HYDROGEN
“Finland is the perfect place to produce sustainable hydrogen.” – Herkko Plit, CEO of P2X Solutions
The hydrogen economy is now The Finnish company P2X plans to power the green transition with hydrogen. TEXT: DAVID J. CORD
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e are at a climatic tipping point – but no, this is not what you think. We are at a positive tipping point. “The green transition is well under way and there is no going back,” says Herkko Plit, CEO of P2X Solutions. “Companies don’t have a future if they aren’t sustainable. Everyone has to be involved.” P2X Solutions is a Finnish company powering the green transition. Their name refers to the Power-to-X process, where renewable power is turned into another form of energy to be used later – in their case hydrogen. This is not a new idea, but what is new is how far along P2X has come. “The first part of electrolysis equipment has already been installed in our factory in Harjavalta, Finland,” Plit says. “It will have a 20 MW capacity and should start producing next year. We are already working on scaling up and aim to have a capacity of 1 GW within ten years.” To put this into perspective, 1 GW could power about 725,000 households for a year. The world has made progress, such as with renewable energy and electric vehicles. Yet 6
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“Trucks and buses can have fuel cells which use green hydrogen. Aviation and shipping can use synthetic fuels made from hydrogen.” we still have a long way to go in hard-to-electrify sectors like heavy transport and industry. It’s difficult to run a factory or cargo ship on batteries alone, but hydrogen can be a game changer. “Trucks and buses can have fuel cells which use green hydrogen. Aviation and shipping can use synthetic fuels made from hydrogen,” Plit explains. “Hydrogen is also important for heavy industry. Companies are coming to Finland to produce fossil-free steel by replacing coal with hydrogen in the iron ore reduction process.” ALL THESE TRANSPORTATION AND industrial companies will have to source their hydrogen from someone, and Plit plans for that someone to be P2X.
“Finland is the perfect place to produce sustainable hydrogen,” he says. “We use electricity to split hydrogen from water. Finland has abundant and affordable renewable energy and clean water, as well as advanced infrastructure and highly skilled workers. The Finnish Government has a goal of providing at least 10% of Europe’s green hydrogen production.” Other countries in Europe are already eyeing Finland as a source of hydrogen. For example, Germany has realised they will not be able to produce the amount of hydrogen their huge economy needs, so they are looking abroad. P2X can produce and distribute green hydrogen and its derivatives like methanol, or even deliver full hydrogen plants to customers. “This is a new industry for everyone, but we have practical experience and competence with electrolysis plants,” says Plit. “We know we are the frontrunners, but we are excited to see so many other players entering the green hydrogen field. If we were the only ones we would know there was something wrong!” |
Read more at p2x.fi
