| 4 | Manufacturing-Journal NEWS | Neste and the other leading energy companies in Finland join forces to de-velop an industrial hydrogen valleyNeste Corporation, Gasgrid Finland Ltd, Helen Ltd, and Vantaa Energy Ltd have in collaboration started preliminary stud-ies on the development of an industrial hydrogen valley in the Uusimaa region, Finland. This joint effort is a step forward in driving Finland towards a leading hy-drogen economy in Europe that creates industrial investment opportunities and supports Finland’s and Europe’s carbon neutrality goals.The industrial hydrogen valley would combine infrastructure, storage and transmission of renewable hydrogen, serving both producers and consum-ers of hydrogen. In addition, sector in-tegration opportunities are a key ele-ment in the studies. In connection with the renewable hydrogen production, significant amounts of renewable heat is generated that can be utilized in dis-trict heating. Collaboration between companies plays a key role in the hydrogen economy development in Finland, as also high-lighted in the national resolution of hy-drogen adopted by the Finnish Govern-ment in February 2023.“Today Neste is the biggest hydrogen consumer in Finland. We need renewable hydrogen in order to reach our climate commitments, e.g. reaching carbon neu-tral production by 2035. Hydrogen is an essential part of our processes and an effi-ciently functioning hydrogen valley would be a great way to source hydrogen in the future. Building up both the power infra-structure as well as hydrogen storage and distribution infrastructure are key enablers for the hydrogen economy development. By being open to collaboration and seek-ing partnerships we discover new paths and unlock a world of interesting possi-bilities,” says Outi Ervasti, Vice President, Renewable Hydrogen at Neste.In order for the Finnish hydrogen econo-my to be competitive in a global context, cost efficient solutions for hydrogen trans-mission and storage are needed. The fea-sibility of different hydrogen transmission and storage options will be evaluated as the first steps towards developing a well functioning hydrogen market. Hydrogen transmission infrastructure contributes to the emergence of a competitive hydrogen market. “Gasgrid Finland promotes the develop-ment of the national hydrogen network, international infrastructure cooperation and the hydrogen market in the Baltic Sea region. Our task is to support industrial in-vestments and develop a hydrogen pipe-line that connects hydrogen producers and consumers,” says Sara Kärki, SVP, Hy-drogen Development of Gasgrid Finland.“Helen has an ambition to become a ma-jor player in the hydrogen economy and is planning large-scale hydrogen produc-tion at Helen’s Vuosaari power plant area in Helsinki alongside with the 3H2 demon-stration project that is waiting for a fund-ing decision from the Ministry of Econom-ic Affairs and Employment. Helen is also studying the possibility of carbon capture, utilization, and storage in the new Vu-osaari bioenergy heating plant. Hydrogen, bio-based carbon dioxide and large-scale wind and solar power production are the key building blocks for various carbon neutral solutions,” says Sari Mannonen, Senior Vice President, Solution Business and Portfolio Development of Helen.“Vantaa Energy aims to become a carbon negative energy company by 2030 taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the circular economy. Renewable hy-drogen is a key enabler for new processes such as carbon capture and utilization that are needed to harness unavoidable emis-sions e.g. from our Waste to Energy -busi-ness operations to further use. In addition, hydrogen production next to the district heating network enables waste heat uti-lization and contributes to the decarboni-zation of the Helsinki metropolitan area by reducing emissions of district heating,” states Kalle Patomeri, Business Director of Vantaa Energy.More info: www.neste.comCummins to Reveal Zero-Carbon H2-Ice Concept Truck at Iaa Expo Powered by the B6.7h Hydrogen EngineAlfa Laval is unveiling two new hy-gienic valves, the Alfa Laval Unique Mixproof CIP and Unique Mixproof Process, extending its hygienic dou-ble-seat valve range to meet market demands. With the introduction of these two innovative mixproof valves,
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