In Sweden, municipal energy utility Skellefteå Kraft AB has announced that it has applied for and been awarded a grant for a renewable hydrogen production plant as part of its work to develop alternative fuels for domestic aviation and road transportation.
Skellefteå Kraft applied for and has been awarded a SEK 39 million (≈ EUR 3.5 million) grant from the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s “Climate Step” (Klimatklivet) program toward an investment in a green hydrogen production facility.
Skellefteå Kraft wants to contribute to the transition to a sustainable society and we see renewable hydrogen as a possible part of the solution to the energy and climate transition, said Joachim Nordin, CEO of Skellefteå Kraft.
The electrolysis plant will be co-located with Skellefteå Kraft’s biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Hedensbyn.
Part of an electro-fuel pilot
The hydrogen facility’s primary purpose is to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by displacing fossil jet fuel in domestic flights at Skellefteå Airport (SFT) and replacing fossil diesel in heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs).
Furthermore, additional CO2 savings will be made by utilizing the residual heat and oxygen produced during the electrolysis process.
We are doing this as a pilot project that will give us important experience. Not least for the ongoing investigation into a large-scale industrial investment in renewable hydrogen and electrofuels. Skellefteå Kraft as a major producer of renewable electricity can play an important role as an enabler in the development of a hydrogen market, said Ann-Christine Schmidt, responsible for research, development, and innovation at Skellefteå Kraft.
The planning of the project is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024. The start of construction is expected to take place in the second quarter of 2025, and completion and commissioning of the facility is expected to take place by the end of 2025.