Finnish ‘mega green port’ feasibility study underway

Joakim Lagercrantz A blade being fitted to a wind turbine
Developers and financiers of significant offshore wind projects in Finland are assessing the benefits of a mega green port in the autonomous region of Åland.

The project team consists of OX2, the Bank of Åland, the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, EuroMekanik and other consultancies.

OX2 is a renewable energy development company and along with the Bank of Åland’s mutual fund subsidiary Ålandsbanken Fondbolag is building the Noatun North and Noatun South offshore wind power projects.

The projects are located near Finland’s Åland archipelago in the Baltic Sea and are a catalyst for the feasibility study into creating a green mega port at the port of Långnäs in Åland. The feasibility study is planned to take one year and will consider practical, technical and financial factors.

The location suits the creation of a hub for the Noatun North and Noatun South wind projects, said the developers, and could site operations and services including construction, electrical connections, hydrogen and electrofuel (e-fuel) production and distribution.

The scope of the plan includes hydrogen production for use both as a marine fuel for the shipping sector and in industrial processes in the region. The port is also envisioned as a hydrogen transportation hub for sending hydrogen through the planned Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector south to the Europe.

"Creating a Mega Green Port will bolster the Åland economy in many different ways. In addition to being an important part of the offshore wind power projects, it will generate jobs and produce e-fuel for the shipping industry − making Åland attractive for the establishment of large business operations and enabling many new innovative projects in oxygenation of waterways and utilisation of excess heat in various manufacturing activities. The port will strengthen Åland’s potential to become the leading green hub in the Nordic region,” says Anders Wiklund, Country Manager Åland at OX2.

With the prospect of green energy available on site, the project company is seeking international companies from a variety of sectors to set up shop in the area.

“The purpose of our planned wind power projects is green energy transition and enabling the general public to participate via our mutual fund structure − but perhaps, above all, to create a new growth engine for the Åland business sector. The feasibility study for Långnäs as a Mega Green Port is an important step in understanding how Långnäs can play a key role in the future of the  Åland business community, especially with reference to the growth of existing Åland companies and the establishment of new business operations,” says Peter Wiklöf, Manager Director and Chief Executive of the Bank of Åland.  

 The Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping will bring knowledge on green e-fuel and port development to the project.  

 “We are very much looking forward to being involved in this feasibility study, the vision for Åland and the role that Långnäs can play for shipping. The global shipping industry is clamouring for green e-fuel on a large scale, which makes the timing of this feasibility study perfect. It needs to get started as soon as possible,” says Johan Byskov Svendsen, Programme Manager at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping.