Provaris and Norwegian Hydrogen bolster hydrogen alliance in Nordics

Provaris Energy and Norwegian Hydrogen have entered a new collaboration agreement to jointly progress the identification and development of several sites in the Nordic region for the large-scale production and export of hydrogen to European markets.

Specifically, under the agreement, the parties will identify sites in the Nordic region for the potential joint development of hydrogen production projects, for the export of hydrogen to Europe based on Provaris’ proprietary technology for the storage and marine transportation of hydrogen in compressed form.

The companies will also jointly undertake, each at their own cost, the feasibility studies, and unless otherwise agreed by the parties in writing, will each contribute 50% to agreed third-party costs incurred.

Each joint development project will be subject to a project-specific definitive development agreement to be agreed upon and executed, Provaris said, adding that the term of this new agreement is 24 months.

According to Provaris, the projects will utilize locally available renewable energy to produce hydrogen for shipment to European ports, thus assisting energy-intensive industries in making an impact on their decarbonization plans and targeting a scale and level of innovation that aligns with various European Union (EU) funding schemes.

New projects will be strategically located in areas with “robust” grid connections and power supplies, Provaris revealed, noting that these sites will facilitate the construction of “state-of-the-art” electrolyzers and hydrogen compression facilities linked to export jetties. Provaris’ H2Neo carriers will transport the hydrogen, while the H2Leo barge will serve for storage. The initiatives will also foster circular economies by utilizing by-products like clean oxygen and waste heat in local industries and district heating systems, Provaris claimed.

This agreement follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Provaris and Norwegian Hydrogen in January 2023 to collaborate on the development of green hydrogen value chain projects in the Nordics. Later in the year, the companies completed a pre-feasibility study on hydrogen export, demonstrating the potential for low-cost delivery of green hydrogen from Norway to Europe, commencing in 2027.

In 2023, Provaris, in collaboration with Norwegian Hydrogen, also launched the development of a large-scale production plant for green hydrogen at Ørskog in Ålesund municipality, Norway, claiming that the project will become one of the largest production facilities for green hydrogen in the entire Nordic region.

Commenting on the new agreement, Jens Berge, Norwegian Hydrogen’s CEO, stated: “While we develop a comprehensive network of production sites and distribution infrastructure across the entire Nordic region, to reduce emissions in the Nordics, we have also identified several sites with significant export potential. While such locations could also be used to produce other derivatives such as e-methanol or green ammonia, we strongly believe that if the end demand is for gaseous hydrogen, nothing would be better than to avoid going via a derivative solely for transportation purposes.”

Martin Carolan, Provaris’ Managing Director and CEO, added: “A new collaboration with Norwegian Hydrogen for greenfield sites in the Nordics builds on the success of our work together in 2023 and the platform they have developed in the Nordics as a producer of hydrogen. This partnership can accelerate development sites that will leverage Provaris’ downstream activities for supply of green hydrogen to German utilities who are seeking regional volumes of green hydrogen, and more recently, the joint development of a compressed hydrogen import terminal with Global Energy Storage (GES) at the Port of Rotterdam can provide market access to industrial offtake markets within the port and broader Europe.”

Provaris Energy and Global Energy Storage (GES) entered a collaboration agreement to develop a gaseous hydrogen import facility at the GES terminal in the Rotterdam port at the beginning of April 2024. Specifically, the parties agreed to complete a comprehensive pre-feasibility study to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of berthing and unloading of Provaris’ H2Neo compressed hydrogen carriers.

Provaris has advanced the H2Neo carrier through an extensive FEED package design approval in December 2022, with a prototype tank under construction and a testing program underway in Norway to support a final construction approval from the classification society targeted for mid-2024.