Swedish Energy Agency supports hydrogen gas plant in Gothenburg

Preem and Vattenfall are now going ahead with plans to design a hydrogen gas plant to produce hydrogen gas for biofuel manufacture based on residues from the Swedish pulp industry.

"This initiative has the potential to contribute to achieving the goal of zero emissions for both the industry and the transport sector," said Klara Helstad, Head of the Sustainable Industry Unit at the Swedish Energy Agency.

"This is an important step in our transition to generating three million cubic metres of biofuel by 2030, and is entirely consistent with Preem's vision of being a leader in the transformation towards a more sustainable society," said Petter Holland, CEO at Preem.

"It is very gratifying that the Swedish Energy Agency also sees the potential in Preem and Vattenfall's shared target of greatly reducing emissions from road transport. Vattenfall now has a further opportunity to develop the market for hydrogen gas production from fossil-free electricity," said Magnus Hall, President and CEO of Vattenfall.

Hydrogen gas is currently generated mainly from fossil natural gas, which gives rise to carbon dioxide emissions. By producing hydrogen gas from fossil-free electricity instead, these emissions can be avoided.

The plant will contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25,000 tonnes per year from the process, and emissions in the transport sector are expected to fall by around 230,000 tonnes per year when biofuels replace diesel and petrol. This is the equivalent of the emissions from 80,000 vehicles per year.

As Sweden's biggest fuel producer, Preem has a leading role in the transition to more renewable fuels and a sustainable society with less impact on the environment. Vattenfall is Sweden's biggest electricity generator and has a clear goal of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and taking a leading role in the transition to a sustainable energy system.

Sweden's environmental targets mean that carbon dioxide emissions from road traffic must fall by 70% between now and 2030, which in turn means that generation of renewable fuels must increase considerably.