OMV Petrom gets EUR 39 mln grant to produce green H2

Romanian oil and gas company OMV Petrom announced that it received financing worth up to EUR 39 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the construction of a EUR 74 mln hydrogen production capacity (electrolyser) at its Petrobrazi refinery. The financing contract was signed with the Ministry of Energy.

The final investment decision is to be made in 2024. Completion of the works is estimated for 2025.

The company apparently speaks of a grant - as opposed to financing (typically a loan) – part of the EUR 148.8 mln grant scheme, out of which EUR 114.4 mln comes from the European Union’s budget and the 30% (EUR 34.4 mln) top-up is provided by the national government.

The scheme will support the construction of new installations for the production of hydrogen from renewable sources, with the aim of achieving, by December 31, 2025, renewable hydrogen production capacities of at least 100 MW in electrolysis plants producing at least 10,000 tons of hydrogen per year.

OMV Petrom’s project involves putting into operation, within the Petrobrazi refinery, a capacity of 20 MW for hydrogen production by water electrolysis. The entire process will be powered by renewable energy, the company says, without indicating whether it would be provided from its own capacities or purchased from the market.

(Photo source: Omvpetrom.com)