MOL Group has taken another step towards carbon neutrality by officially opening a new green hydrogen production facility at Hungary’s largest refinery, Dunav, yesterday. The facility, valued at 22 million euros, will be used to produce 1,600 tons of green hydrogen annually, generated using electricity from renewable sources. According to the Group, the facility will reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the Dunav Refinery by 25,000 tons, and interestingly for local readers, a similar green hydrogen production facility is planned in Rijeka and Bratislava.
—
—
The green hydrogen production facility in Százhalombatta, with a capacity of 10 megawatts, is the largest in Central and Eastern Europe. As mentioned, MOL will be able to produce 1,600 tons of pure, carbon-neutral green hydrogen annually, opening a new chapter for the company in hydrogen management. The investment aligns with MOL Group’s corporate strategy SHAPE TOMORROW, aimed at making the region more sustainable, competitive, and self-sufficient.
Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, and MOL Group uses a 10-megawatt electrolysis unit manufactured by the American company Plug Power. Plug Power’s electrolysis equipment utilizes electricity from renewable energy sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. This means that no polluting by-products are created, and the facility produces eight to nine tons of pure oxygen per ton of hydrogen.
New Milestone
– MOL Group has reached another milestone: we can now produce green hydrogen without generating greenhouse gases. By using this technology, we can achieve emission reductions equivalent to removing about 5,500 cars from the road overnight. For now, our new green hydrogen production facility will serve to make MOL’s industrial operations greener, but in the future, it will offer solutions for the entire industry and hydrogen-based mobility. After Százhalombatta, we will apply this technology to two other fuel production units in the Group to make the fuel production process more sustainable in each of MOL Group’s refineries, – said József Molnár, CEO of MOL Group, at the opening ceremony of the new green hydrogen production facility.
—
—
The new technology will gradually replace the natural gas-based production process, which currently accounts for one-sixth of MOL Group’s total carbon dioxide emissions. As the facility still needs to undergo certain tests, the start of operations is planned for the second half of 2024, and as explained at the facility, MOL will use this green hydrogen exclusively in its own fuel production plants, at least for now, until new opportunities arise with technological advancements and broader hydrogen acceptance.
– We are excited to celebrate the launch of one of the largest green hydrogen production facilities in Europe in collaboration with MOL as support for the refinery, – said Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug Power.
Diversification from Fossil Fuels
Viktor Sverla, Director of Strategy and Sustainability at MOL Group, presented the Group’s strategy during a brief session the day before, which has been adapting in recent years with the goal of diversifying from fossil fuels and increasing sustainability. Sverla noted that there are three challenges the Group must ‘tackle’: increasingly ambitious and complex regulations from the EU, geopolitical tensions, and customer expectations for accessible and affordable energy.
– It is necessary to find the right balance, – added Sverla.
To meet all these challenges, Sverla presented short-term and long-term challenges for MOL and the industry, emphasizing that additional focus is placed on supply security and green transformation. Accessibility is defined as profitable and affordable energy supply, while supply security is seen as the need for supply diversification and improving European competitiveness. He also mentioned that there are ambitious goals on the path to sustainability, but also significant uncertainty regarding the market and technology.
Gabriel Szabo, Executive Vice President of the Group, emphasized that the long-term vision is to become a sustainable chemical company that will drive mobility with ambitions to reduce carbon footprints. He added that plastic and chemical products still exist in the vision of the future. He stated that plastic is a versatile material that finds various applications. Of course, recycling is extremely important, Szabo emphasized.
He also presented the three pillars of the strategy until 2030, which are fossil fuels, where the goal is to maintain market position and introduce alternative fuels. The second pillar is the chemical sector, where the goal is to accelerate existing projects, and new major investments have been announced, while the third pillar is sustainability.
– By 2030, we will invest around 2.8 billion euros in supply chain security, decarbonization, chemical projects, and recycling, – said Szabo.
Ádám Horváth, Vice President of the New and Sustainable Business Department at MOL Group, stated in his presentation that MOL Group is the largest regional producer of hydrogen but also a consumer, as it is used in its own refinery. He also added that a more sustainable way of producing green hydrogen needs to be found, and that is a problem that must be solved.
Regarding regulations, Horváth stated that the ‘environment’ regulations are quite strict and complex for the industry.
– One of the main elements of that regulation is the ‘Renewable Energy Directive’, which mandates that by 2030, 29 percent of energy for transport must be in some way sustainable, – he said, adding that this is a significant percentage.
To meet all the goals, by 2030, we will need more than 100 megawatts of electrolysis units, which is more than ten times what we currently have, and that is a very large investment, emphasized Horváth.
