CIP, Flexens, and Lhyfe team up for integrated green hydrogen and OW production

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Flexens, and Lhyfe have formed a partnership to develop and construct an integrated energy island solution enabling large-scale green hydrogen and offshore wind production on Åland, Finland.

CIP, through Copenhagen Energy Islands, Lhyfe, and Flexens have decided to jointly launch the Åland Energy Island project that aims to develop large-scale hydrogen production on Åland integrated with gigawatt-scale offshore wind in Åland waters for use both on Åland and in the wider European region.

The project is expected to support Åland’s and EU objectives for energy security and decarbonization.

As explained, the exact configuration of the Åland Energy Island project will be developed in close coordination with the local government and other local stakeholders to maximize the benefits for Åland.

“The development of the Åland Energy Island project will provide a value increasing route to market for the regional offshore wind supporting the ambitions of Åland regarding local value and job creation as well as supporting the energy transition and energy independence of the wider region. The strong complementary capabilities represented by the consortium partners enable the Åland Energy Island integrating offshore wind and hydrogen facilities to be structured and developed with the environmental, economic, and social interests of Åland in mind,” said Thomas Dalsgaard, partner at CIP.

Taia Kronborg, Chief Business Officer at Lhyfe, commented: “This partnership with CIP is a great recognition of Lhyfe’s ability to develop large-scale onshore and offshore projects in the Nordic countries: it takes us to the next level. This project demonstrates how hydrogen can fit into a vast integrated renewable energy system with its capacity to store and transform renewable electricity. It’ll be a great role model for all Europe.”

“We see an unprecedented opportunity to create and expand renewable energy related activities on Åland into a skills and knowledge based hub for the offshore based energy future in the whole Baltic Sea region,” added Berndt Schalin from Flexens.

Earlier this year, Lhyfe acquired a 49% stake in Flexens which has a strong commercial pipeline with a total foreseen capacity exceeding 1.5 GW in Finland and abroad.

Flexens’ projects include Kokkola, a 300 MW project expected to be commissioned by 2027, the Smart Energy Åland demonstration project, and a 2.5 MW green hydrogen production unit in Lempäälä, expected to be operational in 2025.