Neste pulls back on green hydrogen project at Porvoo refinery

Neste has canceled its 120 MW electrolyzer project at the Porvoo refinery due to economic and regulatory challenges, reflecting a broader trend of energy companies scaling back renewable fuel investments

Finnish biofuel producer Neste has announced it will no longer pursue its planned 120 MW electrolyzer project to produce renewable hydrogen at its Porvoo refinery in southern Finland, citing challenging market conditions and financial performance as key factors.

In a statement on Thursday October 24, Neste explained that tight constraints in Finland on renewable hydrogen use for refineries – specifically, meeting the renewable fuels of non-biological origin (RFNBO) distribution obligation – limit the project’s economic feasibility, as renewable hydrogen cannot be fully integrated at Porvoo’s refinery processes as originally planned.

The Finnish biofuel producer had intended for the electrolyzer to replace fossil-based hydrogen with green hydrogen at Porvoo, aligning with its broader strategy to decarbonize its operations.

Fastmarkets reached out to Neste for further details on how this may impact its biofuel strategy but did not receive a response prior to publication.

Neste has previously stated its commitment to achieving carbon-neutral production by 2035 and aims to reduce carbon intensity of its sold products by 50% by 2040.

Neste’s decision aligns with recent moves by other energy companies scaling back on renewable fuel investments.

UK energy major BP announced earlier this year it would scale back investments in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel production, citing difficult economic conditions.

Similarly, oil major Shell paused the construction of its 820,000-tonne-per-year biofuels facility at Rotterdam Energy and Chemicals Park in the Netherlands to address market and project delivery challenges.

Despite such adjustments, renewable hydrogen remains a key component in producing synthetic aviation fuel (eSAF).

The eSAF process typically relies on renewable electricity to produce hydrogen through electrolysis, which then combines with captured carbon dioxide to form carbon monoxide.

This compound is further processed with hydrogen to produce synthetic crude, which can ultimately be refined into renewable fuels.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) projects that, by 2050, hydrogen demand will rise to 613 million tonnes from 87.1 million tonnes in 2020.

To meet this demand, two thirds of the hydrogen must be green hydrogen – that is, produced with clean electricity.

What to read next
French milling wheat exports from the port of Rouen reached their greatest volume in the past 16 weeks, with 87,000 tonnes of milling wheat exported in the week to March 26, according to data released by French port operator Haropa on Thursday, March 27. While the 87,000 tonnes is a relatively large volume of weekly […]
The National Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANP) denied late on Thursday, March 27, a request from Brazil’s National Union of Fuel and Lubricant Distribution Companies (Sindicom) to suspend the mandatory biodiesel blend in diesel for 90 days in the country. Brazil currently has a mandatory blend of biodiesel in diesel at 14% (B14), […]
AG-SYB-0078 Crush Margin China Soy (Brazil) March 20, 2024:M1: 104.25 yuan per tonneM2: 63.25 yuan per tonneM3: 43.25 yuan per tonneM4: -44.75 yuan per tonneM5: -122.25 yuan per tonneM6: -132.75 yuan per tonne August 21, 2024:M1: -5 yuan per tonneM2: -6.75 yuan per tonneM3: -50.25 yuan per tonneM4: -100.5 yuan per tonneM5: 23.5 yuan per tonneM6: 34.5 yuan per tonne AG-SYB-0079 Crush Margin China Soy (US Gulf) March 20, […]
The European Commission is considering delaying a first set of countermeasures to US tariffs on aluminium and steel until mid-April, EU trade chief Maroš Šefcovic said on Thursday, March 20. The measures, announced on March 12, cover a wide range of agricultural and industrial goods including potentially some wood products, pulp, paper and board. The […]
In the week to March 13, US soybean meal and soybean cake sales fell slightly, while exports increased, the latest USDA figures released on Thursday, March 20 showed. US 2024-25 soybean meal and cake sales reached 182,200 tonnes, down by 1% on the week and by 20% from the four-week average, but within average market […]
Malaysia’s palm oil exports during March 1-15 totalled 381,790 tonnes compared with 422,425 tonnes the preceding month due to lower purchases from key destination markets, according to figures from cargo surveyor Intertek Testing Services (ITS).The figure excludes shipments of soft oils, coconut oils and used cooking oil (UCO), with the volume down by 10%, or […]