IPCEI grant awarded to Neste boosts Porvoo refinery’s green hydrogen projects

In December 2022, Business Finland awarded Neste with a public funding of EUR 27.7 million for green hydrogen projects at Neste’s refinery in Porvoo, Finland, aiming to develop solutions for renewable hydrogen production.

In July 2022, Neste became the first Finnish company to receive IPCEI (Important Project of Common European Interest) status from the European Commission for its hydrogen projects, which enabled the company to apply for the public funding now granted. EU IPCEI projects promote the EU’s strategic objectives and the common interests of Europeans by supporting innovation projects in different EU Member States. The grant decision is part of the EU’s first wave of IPCEI projects on hydrogen, which aims to develop and accelerate the production and use of green hydrogen across Europe. In Finland, the EU application process has been coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and Business Finland. In Finland, projects related to the value chain for the hydrogen economy are part of the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland, funded through the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.

“Neste’s goal is to strengthen the European hydrogen value chain and be at the forefront of the production and development of renewable hydrogen solutions. This grant will have a significant impact on advancing our green hydrogen projects in today’s challenging business environment. We would like to thank the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and Business Finland for the funding and their support in the application process,” says Outi Ervasti, Vice President of Renewable Hydrogen at Neste.

In September 2022, Neste launched a strategic study on transitioning its Porvoo refinery in  the long-term into a globally leading renewable and circular solutions site. If implemented, the transformation path would result in replacing crude oil with renewable and recycled raw materials in the mid-2030s. Neste’s renewable hydrogen projects are an essential part of the planned transformation and the company’s goal to achieve carbon neutral production by 2035.