AFRY selected as engineering partner for Liquid Wind’s third electrofuel plant

Swedish electrofuel developer Liquid Wind is advancing the development of its third electrofuel facility for maritime sector, FlagshipTHREE, in Umeå, Sweden, with AFRY as an engineering partner.

Liquid Wind has set a goal to supply the marine shipping industry with green electrofuel through large-scale production. Following FlagshipONE and FlagshipTWO, the company is now taking the next step by setting up the third such facility in collaboration with the energy company Umeå Energi in Sweden.

According to the company, FlagshipTHREE will be able to supply 100,000 tons of fossil-free fuel per year to the shipping industry and capture 230,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

After providing basic engineering for the balance of FlagshipTWO, AFRY has now been selected as engineering partner for FlagshipTHREE as well.

AFRY’s assignment includes basic engineering for the balance of plant, which includes project management and adaptation and integration of the electrofuel facility with Umeå Energi’s plant.

AFRY will also deliver several services within process, electrical, automation, instrumental, piping, mechanical, civil and HVAC. In addition, the company prepares all technical documentation for the environmental permit process.

AFRY said its assignment has already started and is expected to be completed in 2024.

“We are proud to be part of Liquid Wind’s journey in their ambitions to contribute to a climate-neutral shipping industry with more than ten planned electrofuel facilities in the Nordics by 2030. Our experience from previous Flagship projects and continuous collaboration with Liquid Wind will enable even better performance from the project teams,” said Lisa Vedin, Head of Process Industries Sweden.

“We have a good collaboration with AFRY that we are happy to deepen. For us, it is important to have a partner that has the required wide of expertise. The need for CO2-neutral marine fuels is significant. Today, 99.9 percent of the fuel used by the maritime sector is based on fossil raw materials, which is why our investments are urgent and require collaboration with actors with deep knowledge and a strong focus on sustainability,” stated Claes Fredriksson, CEO and founder of Liquid Wind.

Liquid Wind’s first electrofuel project FlagshipONE in Örnsköldsvik was acquired by Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted in December 2022. It is Europe’s first commercial-scale green electrofuel facility with a final investment decision (FID) in place.

The second plant, FlagshipTWO, is being developed in cooperation with energy services provider Sundsvall Energi. In order to establish this 100,000-ton electrofuel facility, Liquid Wind recently contracted Swedish-Finnish AFRY to provide basic engineering for the balance of the plant.

Production at the facility in Sundsvall is planned to start at the end of 2025.