Green North Energy’s new plants target Finland’s self-sufficiency in ammonia production

Green North Energy, a green energy project development company launched in 2021, has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with Finnish cities Pori and Kemi to conduct a feasibility study for establishing green hydrogen and ammonia plants as part of BalticSeaH2 project, a large-scale cross-border hydrogen valley gathering 40 partners from nine Baltic Sea region countries.

Green North Energy said it plans to utilize the production concept it developed with the support of Business Finland, which is already applied in the pilot plant currently under development in Naantali. The pilot plant will be completed in 2027.

To remind, at the beginning of 2023, Business Finland granted the company R&D funding of €2.3 million to develop a scalable green hydrogen and ammonia production concept.

Now, Green North Energy is starting to examine the feasibility of the concept for new locations in Pori and Kemi as part of the BalticSeaH2 project. Both facilities would be the size of the Naantali plant, representing investments of more than €600 million each.

The planned investments are aimed at accelerating the green transition, improving security of supply, and creating new jobs.

The company highlighted that its planned production volumes would be enough to make Finland self-sufficient in ammonia production.

As explained, the choice of cities for the new plants was especially influenced by the fact that significant offshore wind projects are planned for both Pori and Kemi, supplying renewable energy necessary for hydrogen projects.

The proximity of their ports was also a decisive factor, as the main markets for green ammonia are further away in Europe, Green North Energy noted.

“Connecting to offshore wind power has a big impact on the overall profitability of the plants we are developing. It is absolutely essential to resolve the obstacles to the development of offshore wind power so that hydrogen plants and energy projects progress at the same pace,” said Jussi Ylinen, Managing Director of Green North Energy.

Helena Sarén, Mission Lead, Carbon Neutrality, at Business Finland, commented: “This concrete investment is important because Finland needs industrial renewal: companies that seek new business from the hydrogen economy, for example, and are also able to grow internationally. At Business Finland, we want to share the risk of companies in this market transition.”