OMV Petrom signs financing for 2 green-hydrogen projects at Petrobrazi refinery in Romania
OMV Petrom, the largest integrated energy producer in Southeast Europe, announced Feb. 26 the signing of two financing contracts through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan—a funding facility supported by the European Commission—for the construction of two production facilities for green hydrogen with a total capacity of 55 megawatts (MW) at the Petrobrazi refinery in Romania.
The contracts were signed with the Romanian Ministry of Energy for a maximum funding amount of 50 million euros (USD$54.2 million).
The total investment is approximately 140 million euros (USD$151.9 million).
The funding was obtained following the reopening in July 2023 of the competitive call for projects supporting investments in green hydrogen, initially launched in 2022.
“Through our Strategy 2030, we committed to support the energy transition in Romania and the region with investments of around 11 billion euros (USD$11.93 billion) by the end of this decade, of which approximately 35 percent will support low- and zero-carbon projects,” said OMV Petrom CEO Christina Verchere. “We have made great strides in renewables and electro-mobility projects, and with this project we are adding hydrogen to our portfolio of low-carbon projects.”
Radu Căprău, a member of OMV Petrom’s executive board who is responsible for refining and marketing, added, “We are proud to be among the first green-hydrogen producers in Romania. Green hydrogen, produced from renewable energy sources, is a viable solution for a low-carbon future. By developing these projects at Petrobrazi, we are taking important steps towards sustainable refining activity.”
The projects consist of building two water-electrolysis plants of 35 MW and 20 MW at the Petrobrazi refinery.
The entire production process will be powered by renewable energy, allowing the hydrogen obtained to be classified as “green hydrogen.”
The annual amount of green hydrogen to be produced by the two projects has been estimated at approximately 8 kilotons.
Integrating green hydrogen into the production process of green fuels, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), will lead to a CO2-emission reduction of at least 70 percent compared to conventional fuels.
The projects are currently in the engineering phase aiming to reach a final investment decision in 2024.
