Hungary opens large green hydrogen facility in 2023
MOL Group has teamed up with Plug Power Inc. to build one of Europe’s largest-capacity green hydrogen production facilities. It will be situated in Százhalombatta, Hungary, where MOL has a large refinery.
Utilizing a 10-megawatt (MW) electrolysis unit from Plug Power, MOL’s €22 million facility will be able to produce approximately 1,600 tons of clean, carbon-neutral, green hydrogen annually, removing up to 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide by displacing the currently used natural gas-based production process. This wil help MOL’s carbon neutrality goals, since the process represents one-sixth of the carbon dioxide emissions of the company.
“We are convinced that hydrogen is not only one of the most important energy carriers of the already ongoing energy transition”, says Gabriel Szabó, Executive Vice President of Downstream at MOL Group. “It will be an essential factor in the new, carbon-neutral energy system as well. This new technology allows the introduction of green hydrogen production in Hungary.”
Below average
The former East European country is not exactly first in line when it comes to eco-friendliness. On the 2019 Eco-Innovation scoreboard, Hungary ranked 27th, and scored 54, significantly below the EU average.
The air pollution in Hungary is mainly caused by car emissions and electric power plants. They emit dangerous amounts of sulfur-dioxide into the air by burning high-sulfur coals, diesel, and other sulfur-containing fuels.
“Green hydrogen addresses two critical issues facing humanity: climate change and energy independence”, according to Andy Marsh, CEO of Plug. “Our opportunities seem limitless to support the trend to pull green hydrogen into more traditional industrial hydrogen markets throughout the world.”
The hydrogen production facility is expected to be operational in 2023.
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