July 19 (Renewables Now) - Finnish renewable fuels producer Neste Oyj (HEL:NESTE) has secured approval to get national public funding for a green hydrogen project at its Porvoo refinery.

The company’s Sustainable Hydrogen and Recovery of Carbon project (SHARC) was last week awarded an Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) status by the European Commission (EC), enabling it to receive state aid. The scheme is among 41 “truly innovative” technology projects concerning the hydrogen value chain that will share a total of EUR 5.4 billion (USD 5.5bn) in funding.

According to Neste, it is the first Finnish company with an IPCEI status.

Through the SHARC scheme, Neste intends to move away from the production of fossil-fuel-based hydrogen so as to lower the greenhouse gas emissions at the Porvoo refinery and back its goal of having carbon neutral production by 2035. For that purpose, the company will combine electrolysis and carbon capture and storage solutions. The biofuel maker in April signed an agreement to get EUR 88 million in grant funding through the EU Innovation Fund.

The 41 selected IPCEI projects will lead to the production of 10 million tonnes of clean hydrogen in the EU by 2030.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.018)

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