In Sweden, energy major Uniper Sweden, part of Germany-headquartered Uniper SE, has announced that it has signed contracts with AFRY, Carbon Clean, Siemens Energy and Topsoe to begin the next development phase for NorthStarH2, a planned e-methanol production facility in Östersund aimed at helping decarbonize sectors such as transport and the chemical industry.
The work will run for approximately one year. The contracts total more than SEK 100 million (≈ EUR 8.9 million).
NorthStarH2 is an important project in Uniper’s energy transition portfolio. These contracts allow us to move from early project development into basic engineering and take another important step towards assessing the project’s technical and commercial feasibility, said Johan Svenningsson, CEO of Uniper Sweden.
During the so-called Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase, Uniper and its suppliers will define the plant’s technical design and prepare the project for construction.
With these contracts in place, we can now develop the plant design in much greater detail and define how NorthStarH2 will be built. Östersund offers strong conditions for producing electrofuels, said Broghan Helgeson, NorthStarH2’s Project Manager at Uniper.
The contracted suppliers will provide engineering expertise during the FEED phase for electrolysis, carbon capture, methanol synthesis and purification.
E-methanol will play an increasingly important role in decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors such as shipping and chemicals. AFRY is honored to support Uniper in transforming this vision into a technically robust and investment-ready project, said Guy Skantze, SVP and Head of Segment Chemicals & Biorefining at AFRY.
Uniper plans to submit its environmental permit application in autumn 2026, and make the final investment decision (FID) for NorthStarH2 in 2028. Commissioning is currently scheduled to begin in 2031.
E-methanol has an important role to play in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors. Uniper’s focus on robust Front-End Engineering Design provides a strong foundation for NorthStarH2, and we are pleased to contribute Carbon Clean’s carbon capture expertise, said Aniruddha Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Clean.
NorthStarH2 will use renewable electricity and biogenic carbon dioxide (bioCO2) to produce fossil-free e-methanol.
The NorthStarH2 project is an important step in advancing the production of e-methanol at industrial scale. Siemens Energy contributes its experience in industrial electrolysis and its proven technology to support the project’s next phase. Our electrolysis solutions combine high efficiency, strong grid integration capabilities, and a focus on safety and ease of service, said Thorsten Boegel, Siemens Energy’s project manager for the NSH2 FEED.
The plant will produce approximately 115,000 tonnes of e-methanol per annum. The e-methanol can replace fossil fuels in sectors such as land and maritime transport and the chemical industry.
This can cut emissions and reduce Europe’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.
The Nordic region is emerging as one of Europe’s most ambitious markets for clean fuels, and Uniper’s NorthStarH2 project is an important part of that momentum. We are proud to contribute our e-methanol technology and engineering expertise to a project that can help accelerate decarbonization in critical sectors such as shipping and chemicals. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Uniper as NorthStarH2 moves toward the next stage of development, said Yassir Ghiyati, COO at Topsoe.
