National Hydrogen Roadmap for Finland

Hydrogen has been used as an industrial chemical for more than 100 years. Today, hydrogen is used to manufacture ammonia, and hence fertilizers, as well as methanol and hydrogen peroxide, both vital feedstocks for a wide variety of different chemical products. Furthermore, in oil refineries, hydrogen is used for the processing of intermediate products, as well as to increase the hydrogen contents of the final products that are used propel the vehicles. However, hydrogen has recently achieved new attention for its capabilities in reducing carbon emissions to the atmosphere. Producing hydrogen via low or totally carbon-free ways, and using this “good” low-carbon hydrogen to replace hydrogen with a larger carbon footprint, we can reduce carbon emissions. Furthermore, using renewable electricity and captured carbon, we can synthesise many such chemical products that are currently produced from fossil raw materials. This “Power-to-X” (P2X) is often seen as the eventual incarnation of the hydrogen economy. In addition, the progress in technology both in hydrogen fuel cells, and in polymer electrolyte electrolysers alike, has increased their efficiencies.
Furthermore, production costs of renewable electricity by wind or solar power have lowered significantly. Thus, cost of “good” hydrogen has also decreased markedly, and production volumes are expected to increase rapidly. For these reasons, many countries have raised interests in “good” hydrogen, and have created roadmaps and strategies for their involvement in hydrogen. Hydrogen plays a key role also in combating climate change and reaching Finland's national goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. In recent years, many clean hydrogen and P2X production methods have developed significantly and become commercially viable.
This report was produced by a team of VTT experts on hydrogen and hydrogen-related technologies. The focus is in an outlook for low-carbon H2 production, H2 utilization for green chemicals and fuels, as well as storage, transport and end-use, especially during the next 10 years in Finland in connection to renewed EU regulations. This roadmap is expected to serve as the knowledge-base for further work, such as shaping the hydrogen policy for Finland, and determining the role of hydrogen in the national energy and climate policy.