The City of Oulu is preparing to reserve land for three new hydrogen production and processing plants. The site, covering up to 800 hectares, is the Pyyryväinen industrial estate, less than 10 kilometres from the centre of Oulu, next to the Välikylä industrial estate.

The planned plants would produce green hydrogen and synthetic fuels processed from hydrogen, both for local use and for export via a new hydrogen pipeline to Central Europe and the port of Oulu.

The project involves the German companies Energiequelle Finland and ABO Energy Suomi Oy.
The first phase ofEnergiequelle Finland's project would involve the construction of a hydrogen production plant of up to 5 MW and a hydrogen refuelling station for buses and other heavy vehicles. In the next phase, the capacity of the hydrogen production plant would be increased by 10-50 MW and hydrogen exports would also be started. In the third phase, production would be further increased by an additional capacity of 100-500 MW.

The employment impact of the first phase would be 10 jobs in plant operation, maintenance, administration and support activities. The employment impact of the second and third phases would be significantly higher.

ABO Energy Suomi Oy, a member of theFinnish Hydrogen Valley Association, envisages a hydrogen production plant of up to 600 MW. Implementation would take place in 2-3 phases. In addition to hydrogen production, the company is also exploring the possibility of producing methanol and sustainable aviation fuel (E-SAF) partially from hydrogen, depending on the availability of biogenic carbon dioxide.

Waste heat could be used for district heating in the Oulu region. The first phase could be deployed around 2034-2036. If completed, the plant could employ at least 50-80 people depending on the final size of the hydrogen plant.

In addition, a third company is planning to build about 400 MW of electrolysis capacity for hydrogen production in the region. The first phase of the plant is tentatively scheduled to be commissioned in 2030. The employment impact of the project is estimated at 150-300 people when the plant is fully operational (source: BusinessOulu).