Norway is one of the European countries which aim to ramp up its hydrogen production in the coming years. The Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy announced plans to invest 310m NOK into hydrogen and ammonia research projects in 2022 in order to drive innovation and technology in the country. Business Norway reported that the country is hoping to become a European leader in hydrogen thanks to its substantial hydropower installed capacity with plans to build a hydrogen pipeline with Germany to develop up to 10GW of hydrogen by the end of the decade. One of the companies involved in this plan is Equinor, which will be introduced below alongside two other key Norwegian developers of hydrogen. All of the companies described in this article can be found on our list of large developers of hydrogen in Europe.
Equinor – wind, solar and hydrogen developer based in Stavanger
Headquartered in Norway, Equinor has been producing renewable energy for over 50 years and developed a workforce of 22,000 employees across 30 countries. One of the firm’s key activities is the production of hydrogen energy. The firm has partnered with some of the world’s leading producers of green energy in order to scale its production in the coming years. In July 2021, the group announced a partnership with RWE and Shell with plans to co-develop an offshore AquaSector project which consists of a 300MW electrolyser to produce 20,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. The plan is part of its larger AquaVentus initiative which aims to produce 10GW of offshore hydrogen by 2035, which will also include contributions from Orsted, WindMW, DNV, and Offshore Wind Technologies amongst others. The long-term project will aim to be fully operational by 2035 providing it meets the legal framework.
Norwegian Hydrogen –
Norwegian Hydrogen exclusively develops green hydrogen assets with world-class infrastructure enabling a transition to green energy. Founded in 2020 but the idea behind the company first dates back to 2018 when the Norwegian Government introduced entry for emission-free entities into the UNESCO fjords of Norway. Its first project was launched in 2018 and received an investment of NOK 46m from Innovation Norway. In January 2023, the group announced plans to partner with Provaris Energy to develop green hydrogen assets in the Nordics. The duo aims to supply energy to transport, maritime and industrial companies such as Mitsui & Co and Tafjord.
Gen2 Energy – hydrogen developer based in Borre
The Norwegian firm is committed to providing Europe with clean green energy from hydrogen sources and a reduced environmental footprint. Gen2 Energy plans to become a large-scale developer of hydrogen energy using energy supplied from green energy sources. The Norwegian group is constantly targeting new assets and potential sites, with a goal of having an installed capacity of 1GW within the next five to six years. Currently, the group has four assets at various stages of construction across Norway. The firm work alongside several partners such as Wood which will provide the front-end engineering design for one of its Norwegian assets which will have an installed capacity of 100MW when operational. Gen2 Energy has also been supported by energy trader Vitol who acquired a 10% equity interest in the firm that will allow the group to achieve its goals of becoming a large-scale producer and distributor of green hydrogen.
Image Source: Mikita Karasiuo via Unsplash (07.07.23)
