Neste and the Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) of the European Commission sign the EU Innovation Fund’s grant agreement for the clean hydrogen project 'SHARC' in Porvoo

Neste Corporation, Press Release, 4 April 2022 at 8.00 a.m. (EET)

Neste has closed the grant agreement process with CINEA and the European Commission, following the earlier announced positive EU Innovation Fund grant decision of EUR 88 million to Neste’s clean hydrogen project at the Porvoo refinery in Finland. The ‘SHARC’ project introduces electrolysis and carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions that allow the quick and efficient reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at the refinery. Neste’s project is in the feasibility phase with no final investment decision made yet and with the planned start of the operations around the mid 2020s.

With this transformation project, a reduction of more than 4 million tons of CO2 emissions can be achieved at the Porvoo refinery in the first 10 years of operation. The project would strongly contribute to reaching both Finland’s and the EU’s climate targets by accelerating the green transition and has a significant role in Neste’s target of carbon neutral production by 2035.

“We are proud to be in the forefront of accelerating the European energy transition. With the SHARC project, Neste is pioneering in transforming industrial production by using clean hydrogen. The project will also build a foundation for the utilization of carbon dioxide and, for example, the production of electric fuels at the Porvoo refinery in the future,“ says Lars Peter Lindfors, SVP Innovation at Neste.

“This project is an essential step in our efforts towards carbon neutrality and to develop the Porvoo refinery into the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. By reforming our current hydrogen production and capturing emissions from the refinery, we will be strongly contributing to Finland's climate targets. SHARC will be one of the cornerstones of the future success of Neste,” says Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President of Oil Products at Neste.

“CINEA is proud to sign the grant agreement of SHARC project, one of the first seven Innovation Fund large-scale projects. I am convinced that SHARC project has great potential to reduce GHG emissions as it will combine green and blue hydrogen production with carbon capture technology. I am looking forward to following the evolution and the implementation of this project,” says Dirk Beckers, Director at CINEA.

Invitation to media event

As part of the grant agreement signing ceremony, Neste and CINEA will arrange a media event today, Monday 4 April 2022 at 10.45 a.m. (EET).

Speakers at the grant agreement signing event are:

• Markku Korvenranta, Executive Vice President, Oil Products, Neste
• Lars Peter Lindfors, Senior Vice President, Innovation, Neste
• Vesa-Pekka Poutanen, Economic Counsellor, European Commission Representation in Finland
• Roman Doubrava, Head of Innovation Fund Unit at CINEA, European Commission
• Riku Huttunen, Director-General of the Energy Department, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland

Media representatives are invited to participate in the event virtually by sending their information (participant’s name, email address and the name of the media) in advance to Neste’s media service at media@neste.com, who will in response provide the meeting link for joining virtually.

Neste Corporation

Susanna Sieppi
Vice President, Communications

Further information: Please contact Neste's media service, tel. +358 800 94025 / media@neste.com (weekdays from 8.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. EET).

Neste in brief

Neste (NESTE, Nasdaq Helsinki) creates solutions for combating climate change and accelerating a shift to a circular economy. We refine waste, residues and innovative raw materials into renewable fuels and sustainable feedstock for plastics and other materials. We are the world’s leading producer of sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel and developing chemical recycling to combat the plastic waste challenge. We aim at helping customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions with our renewable and circular solutions by at least 20 million tons annually by 2030. Our ambition is to make the Porvoo oil refinery in Finland the most sustainable refinery in Europe by 2030. We are introducing renewable and recycled raw materials such as liquefied waste plastic as refinery raw materials. We have committed to reaching carbon-neutral production by 2035, and we will reduce the carbon emission intensity of sold products by 50% by 2040. We also have set high standards for biodiversity, human rights and supply chain. We have consistently been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices and the Global 100 list of the world’s most sustainable companies. In 2021, Neste's revenue stood at EUR 15.1 billion. Read more: neste.com

Tags: