UPM has recently joined the EU’s Clean Hydrogen Alliance and become member of the Roundtable on Clean Hydrogen for industrial users. UPM has also joined the newly established Finnish Hydrogen Cluster. UPM is well-positioned for the hydrogen economy and wants to be proactive in the developments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Clean hydrogen is emerging as one of the key enablers for the European Union goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
“Clean hydrogen provides several interesting opportunities for UPM. We have an in-house access to renewable and CO2-free electricity, water resources, biogenic CO2 and hands-on experience with hydrogen in our advanced biofuels production in Lappeenranta. Our specific knowhow and resources will enable UPM to develop possible new business opportunities in the emerging hydrogen economy”, states Jyrki Ovaska, Executive Vice President, UPM Technology. Ovaska represents UPM in the EU’s Roundtable on Clean Hydrogen for industrial users.
Currently on-going basic engineering phase for a potential new large-scale UPM biorefinery will specifically investigate opportunities of green hydrogen production and utilisation. The potential biorefinery would have an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes of high-quality renewable fuels for road transport, sustainable aviation and for use in petrochemical industry.
Clean hydrogen is considered as an essential pathway for several industries and sectors in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While hydrogen is currently receiving much attention, cost-effective scale-up of the use of clean hydrogen is at early stages.
“Several regulatory issues need to be quickly solved. With the newly established EU and national platforms on clean hydrogen, we wish to engage with stakeholders to create best possible framework conditions to promote the development of the sector”, Jyrki Ovaska concludes.
