The city of Raahe, on the coast of northern Finland, has identified areas suitable for industrial hydrogen production and storage in a study published today. Raahe aims to become a major centre for both carbon-neutral industry and hydrogen production in the BotH2nia hydrogen industrial zone surrounding the planned Baltic Sea hydrogen pipeline. Raahe is already home to an existing SSAB steel plant, which SSAB plans to transform into a fossil-free steel production site by 2030 using hydrogen technology.

The research institute RISE and Luleå University of Technology (LTU) in Sweden as well as research center VTT, LUT University and the University of Oulu in Finland have already completed or are currently conducting preliminary studies for the construction of a hydrogen gas pipeline in the northern Baltic Sea. There is an initial plan is to build a hydrogen gas pipeline around the Baltic Sea’s Gulf of Bothnia, running from Raahe in Finland to Luleå in Sweden and then to Kiruna and Skellefteå. In these places, the steel industry and other industries are planning to use large quantities of hydrogen to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions.

‘Our study has identified three suitable locations in Raahe where we can build facilities for both industrial production and storage of hydrogen’, says Pasi Pitkänen, Director of Raahe Region Development. ‘Our aim is to build a large-scale hydrogen industry in our area and, if necessary, also sell emission-free hydrogen produced in Raahe to Sweden, Germany and other parts of the world’.

Hydrogen production would benefit from numerous projects in the Raahe region to produce electricity without carbon dioxide emissions, and it would strengthen the region’s electricity grid. For example, wind power operator OX2 is planning to construct the Halla offshore wind project in the sea off Oulu and Raahe in the Finnish Exclusive Economic Zone. Construction of up to 160 wind turbines is planned for the area. The estimated annual production of the wind farm is approximately 12 terawatt hours, and the project’s initial schedule suggests that production will start in 2030 at the earliest.

Under the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB) initiative, an extensive European hydrogen transmission network will pass through Raahe, thereby connecting it, via the Baltic Sea hydrogen gas pipeline, to the European hydrogen market. The study on optimal locations for local hydrogen production was commissioned by the City of Raahe and carried out by Ramboll Finland Ltd.