Hydrogen – contributing to industrial decarbonisation
Hydrogen can play an important role in reducing emissions in energy intensive industries and parts of the energy system where direct electrification is difficult. At Fortum, we explore how hydrogen can be used in practical and reliable ways, together with customers and partners, as part of the broader energy transition.One of Fortum’s strategic priorities is to drive the decarbonisation of industrial processes, where hydrogen can be an important element in suitable applications. Fortum is enabling the transition to renewable and low carbon hydrogen in the Nordics.
Hydrogen as an enabler for fossil-free societies
Hydrogen produced from fossil-free electricity has the potential to replace the use of fossil fuels and feedstock in many industrial sectors, from steel to fertilizers. Hydrogen’s chemical properties make it versatile, with many different uses ranging from being an energy carrier in its own right, via exchanging fossil coal in steel and iron production, to electro fuels.
Hydrogen is often an especially competitive method for decarbonisation where direct electrification isn’t viable. While electrification in the transport sector will play a dominant role for passenger vehicles, it is hydrogen that has the potential to decarbonize shipping, heavy duty vehicles as well as aviation.
Further ahead, hydrogen is also needed to decarbonise the energy sector, where it is expected to gradually substitute natural gas and other fossil fuels as well as providing crucial flexibility in power systems with large amounts of volatile electricity production.
For example, when electricity prices are very low, renewable wind power can be used to produce hydrogen and the hydrogen can then be stored for later use. In this way, hydrogen can also act as an energy storage and a valuable resource for keeping the electricity system in balance.
The best partner to decarbonise your business
Fortum is one of the largest producers of fossil-free electricity in the Nordic region.
We are developing hydrogen solutions through a gradual approach that focuses on building technical and commercial capabilities, working with various customer initiatives in Finland and Sweden. This includes hands‑on experience from our hydrogen test facility, the Kalla Test Center in Loviisa, Finland, where two electrolyser technologies are being tested under real operating conditions.
We are actively exploring hydrogen concepts where we combine our experience in fossil-free electricity, district heating, flexibility services, and optimization with electrolysis to tailor our solutions for the needs of our customers.
We aim to be a key player in the hydrogen economy by developing and providing intelligent and competitive decarbonisation solutions with high availability for our customers. We are in active dialogue with various industrial companies and have a range of projects in development and early stages of exploration.