Helleniq Energy, Greece’s largest oil refinery, is close to making a final decision on a pilot investment in green hydrogen at its Elefsina refinery, the company announced Thursday. The group, which operates three refineries in Greece, is also active in fuel sales, renewable energy and hydrocarbon exploration to improve the carbon footprint of its core business. To this end, it is implementing several biofuel production projects in its refineries.
Possible investment in blue hydrogen
In addition to investing in green hydrogen, Helleniq is also evaluating the possibility of investing in a carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility in Elefsina to produce blue hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced from electricity from renewable sources, while blue hydrogen is primarily produced from natural gas with the use of carbon capture and storage.
Helleniq has requested European Union funding to help finance the CCS investment, but said current conditions “do not favor an immediate investment decision,” due in part to funding priorities in Europe and storage. With 0.34 gigawatts of wind and solar power generation capacity in operation, Helleniq is considering acquisitions in Greece and abroad to increase this capacity to 1 gigawatt over the next two years. On Thursday, the group announced a more than fourfold increase in its quarterly profit thanks to higher refining margins.
