OMV receives EUR450 mn funding for green hydrogen facility in Austria

Austrian chemical firm OMV has received a EUR450 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support the construction of its flagship green hydrogen production facility in Bruck an der Leitha, Lower Austria.

The new plant, expected to be operational by the end of 2027, is designed to produce up to 23,000 tonnes/year of renewable hydrogen. It will use a 140MW electrolyser powered entirely by renewable electricity.

The EIB financing, described as its largest-ever loan for Austria’s energy sector, will cover approximately 75% of the project’s total estimated cost of EUR600 million. In January, OMV received up to EUR123 million in production funding from Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws) for the same project.

Once completed, the facility will become the largest of its kind in Austria and rank among the five largest green hydrogen plants in Europe.

EIB vice-president Karl Nehammer said: “By supporting green hydrogen production at industrial scale, we are strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, reinforcing our energy security and helping decarbonise refining by replacing fossil-based hydrogen with renewable hydrogen.”

Hydrogen from the new plant will be transported via a 22 km pipeline to OMV’s Schwechat refinery near Vienna.

The renewable hydrogen will replace conventional fossil-based hydrogen currently used in refining processes.

According to OMV, this substitution is projected to lower direct CO2 emissions at the Schwechat refinery by roughly 150,000 tonnes/year. This equates to approximately 10% of the refinery’s present direct emissions.

The investment is intended to improve the sustainability of fuel and chemical products at the Schwechat site, as well as to provide groundwork for the development of sustainable aviation fuels in the future.