German independent developer Energiequelle has joined the race to tap Finland’s low-cost power supplies, with plans to deploy up to 500MW of electrolyser capacity to produce green hydrogen at the Nordic country’s  northwestern port city of Oulu.

The company has reserved a greenfield site for the project, which it plans to develop in three phases, with commissioning envisaged between 2028 and 2033, depending on market conditions and ability to reach FID.

The first phase of the project would be for up to 5MW of capacity, coupled with a hydrogen refuelling station for buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. Phase two would see capacity rise to10–50MW, with the potential for pipeline and seaborne exports. In the third phase, production would rise to 100–500MW.

“If the right market conditions are met, we expect the first phase to be ready by 2028” Schultheis, Energiequelle

"If the right market conditions are met, we expect the first phase to be ready by 2028,” said Karl Schultheis, head of new business development at Energiequelle Finland.

“However, this is a major industrial project and investment, so the planning reservation we have now received is only one of the first steps towards making concrete investment decisions. In projects of this size, planning and studies are always carried out carefully."

Energiequelle’s investments in hydrogen have up to now focused on the mobility sector. It is a shareholder in the first hydrogen filling station at the north German port of Bremerhaven, which went live in March this year.

Hotspot

The company’s move into Finland comes as the Nordic country emerges as a green hydrogen hotspot. Gulf Energy Information’s Global Energy Infrastructure database is tracking more than 20 projects at various stages of development.

The government has set a target of contributing 10% of the EU’s 10mt/yr production target by 2030, although this looks challenging given the current pace of project development. Hydrogen Cluster Finland, a network of companies and industry associations promoting the country’s green hydrogen sector, has put potential production at 3mt/yr by 2035, doubling to 6mt/yr by 2045.

Finland’s power system delivers some of Europe’s cheapest and cleanest electricity. Around 65% of the country’s energy mix is covered by nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and biomass and waste, according to the IEA. Plans for additional nuclear capacity are under development. The government has set an economy-wide target to be net zero by 2035.

Plans for hydrogen infrastructure are also a draw for green hydrogen developers. Finnish state-owned gas transmission system operator Gasgrid is developing domestic hydrogen networks and export capacity. It is also working with Swedish gas network operator Nordion Energi to develop the Nordic Hydrogen Route, which by 2030 aims to connect green hydrogen production with demand sites via a 1,000km pipeline following the Bothnian Bay coastline, with major branches to expected demand centres such as Gallivare or Kiruna.

Harjavalta project

In March 2025, developer P2X Solutions started up 20MW of alkaline electrolyser capacity, supplied by German manufacturer Sunfire, at Harjavalta, western Finland, which it claims to be the country’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen plant.

P2X Solutions also has plans to produce synthetic methane in Finland. The forest-rich country offers plentiful supplies of biogenic CO₂ for production of hydrogen-based synthetic fuels, including sustainable aviation fuels. The CO₂ is released by burning organic matter during pulp and paper production, and other forestry processes.

Finland has also caught the attention of US producer Plug Power. In 2023, it set out ambitious plans to deploy 2.2GW of electrolyser capacity across three sites in Finland with an investment of around $6b in one of Europe’s largest green hydrogen supply projects.

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Author: Stuart Penson