Achema, Lithuania’s top nitrogen producer, has decided to postpone its green hydrogen project and will not use European Union (EU) support. Achema had planned to build a 213 MW green hydrogen production facility by the fall of 2027, and the European Commission (EC) in July approved €122 million in state aid for the Achema project (GM July 19, p.25).
The project has now been postponed following an assessment of the technological and economic challenges and risks involved, the company reported on Sept. 3. The project’s key technical requirements were changed during Achema’s coordination with the EC, and new EU regulations on hourly green energy matching more than doubled the project’s investment, Achema said, making it no longer cost-effective.
“The requirement for hourly matching of green hydrogen production with variable renewables generation from 2030 makes its use in large chemical plants technically difficult and in some cases impossible,” Achema CEO Audrone Kuskyte said.