Hungarian refiner MOL Group is developing plans to deploy at least 100MW of electrolyser capacity in an industrial-scale investment in green hydrogen production by 2030, aimed at decarbonising its own operations and supplying clean fuels to the mobility market.

As a first step, MOL plans to launch pilot production plants at each of its three refineries—in Hungary, Croatia and Slovakia—to gain operational experience ahead of the main investment, said Adam Horvath, vice-president of new and sustainable businesses.

“From a decarbonisation point of view, we know that this will be an important technology and, in the long term, we believe that it will play a role in the future energy mix of transportation,” he told Hydrogen Economist in an interview.

“So we aim to gain real experience of this technology before we step into any kind of major large scale industrial investment in electrolysers.”

“We know that this will be an important technology and, in the long term, we believe that it will play a role in the future energy mix of transportation” Horvath, MOL

The first of the pilot plants is in the commissioning phase at MOL’s Danube refinery in Szazhalombatta, central Hungary. The 10MW plant, which has cost about $22m, is designed to produce 1,600t/yr, making it the largest of its type in central and eastern Europe. The electrolyser weas supplied by US technology company Plug Power.

A second 10MW plant is under development at the Rijeka refinery on Croatia’s northern Adriatic coast, which is operated by MOL’s Croatian subsidiary INA. The plant is scheduled to start up in the second quarter of 2026. The project includes 11MW of solar power generation and the related logistics needed to supply the green hydrogen into the mobility market. MOL owns a network of almost 2,400 service stations across ten countries in central and southeastern Europe.

A third pilot plant of similar scale is planned for Bratislava refinery in Slovakia, which is operated by MOL subsidiary Slovnaft.

Grey to green

The decarbonisation of MOL’s refining and petrochemical operation represents a significant challenge. The company produces and consumes about 150,000t/yr of grey hydrogen. Of MOL’s total CO₂ emissions of 6.5mt/yr, about 1mt/yr is related to hydrogen, Horvath said.

The impact on emissions of phasing in green hydrogen, even at the pilot scale, is material. With 1,600t/yr feeding into the Szazhalombatta refinery—equivalent to 3–5% of the refinery’s hydrogen needs—a reduction of 25,000t/yr can be achieved. “This is a sizeable contribution to our CO₂ reduction ambition,” said Horvath.

The pilot plants are designed first and foremost to build up operational experience ahead of a much larger investment, and their deployment is not an economic decision, he said. However, the pilots do illustrate the cost structures faced by a refiner switching to green hydrogen.

Four main costs factors need to be taken into account, said Horvath. The cost of renewable power, the cost of replacing steam that the green hydrogen process does not produce, the price of CO₂ under the EU ETS, and water costs.

“Green electricity, with all the grid fees, is certainly more expensive than the normal baseload electricity in Hungary, so that influences the operating of the site,” he said.

Chicken and egg

Building demand for green hydrogen market in the wider market presents a different challenge. MOL is evaluating the development of logistics and retail outlets to bring hydrogen to the mobility market in Hungary and the wider region. However, the lack of firm demand presents a “chicken and egg” challenge for green hydrogen producers, Horvath said.

“There is no real demand,” he said. “There is initial interest from freight companies and to some from the rail company, but these are small scale, early initiatives,” he said.

Collaboration with the transport sector will be crucial in building demand. “The only way we step through this chicken-and-egg situation is if we collaborate with the with the market. So that is why we decided to sign the strategic agreements with the three largest Hungarian public transport and freight transport companies.”

Support in the form of subsidies will also be important. “I really believe that these early developments must be subsidised, otherwise it is not going to happen.”

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Author: Stuart Penson