Nordic developer OX2 and the Finnish Bank of Åland’s mutual fund unit have started a study on the feasibility of large-scale offshore wind-to-hydrogen and e-fuel production and distribution on the Åland archipelago in the Baltic Sea.
The Ålandsbanken Fondbolag-backed project to transform Åland into a regional green hub for transporting the renewable gas through a planned Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector between Finland, Åland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany are also supported by the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.
The partners estimate a maximum capacity for H2 production at the plant of 3GW then a port on the archipelago will function as a green node linked to individual green power projects. Ålandsbanken Fondbolag earlier on had already agreed to cooperate on the development with OX2 of two giant offshore wind arrays off the archipelago that would have a joint capacity of about 8GW.
"Creating a Mega Green Port will bolster the Åland economy in many different ways,” OX2 Åland country manager Anders Wiklund said.
“In addition to being an important part of the offshore wind power projects, it will generate jobs and produce e-fuel for the shipping industry − making Åland attractive for the establishment of large business operations and enabling many new innovative projects in oxygenation of waterways and utilisation of excess heat in various manufacturing activities.
“The port will strengthen Åland’s potential to become the leading green hub in the Nordic region.”
The Swedish-speaking Åland islands currently are a demilitarised region within Finland, a status that may become questioned in the wake of the country’s and Sweden’s desired NATO membership.
The two projects off Åland – Noatun Syd and Noatun Nord – are among a series of gigascale offshore wind projects in the Baltic Sea by OX2. The developer just last month had added another 1.4GW project – the Tyrsky wind farm in the Gulf of Bothnia – to its Finnish pipeline.
The Bank of Åland and the think-tank linked to Danish shipping giant Maersk stressed the importance of the project for the regional economy.
“The purpose of our planned wind power projects is green energy transition and enabling the general public to participate via our mutual fund structure − but perhaps, above all, to create a new growth engine for the Åland business sector,” said Peter Wiklöf, chief executive of the Bank of Åland.
Johan Byskov Svendsen, programme manager at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, added: “We are very much looking forward to being involved in this feasibility study, the vision for Åland and the role that Långnäs can play for shipping.
“The global shipping industry is clamouring for green e-fuel on a large scale, which makes the timing of this feasibility study perfect.”
The feasibility study is slated to last 12 months and create a better understanding of the conditions around the proposed Långnäs Mega Green Port, both practical and technical, as well as financial factors, OX2 said.
