INA intends to produce green hydrogen at Rijeka oil refinery

Croatian oil and gas company INA intends to start producing green hydrogen at its oil refinery in Rijeka, using solar power.

Within its efforts to transform into a diversified energy company, oil refiner and fuel distributor INA earlier launched solar power projects and now it is also turning to hydrogen as one of the main solutions for the decarbonization of industry and transport.

INA has filed a request with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development for the evaluation of the need for an environmental impact assessment for a green hydrogen production facility and two solar power plants.

The company plans a 10 MW electrolyzer

Green hydrogen will be produced by polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolysis in a 10 MW electrolyzer (PEM EL), according to the application.

The planned production of green hydrogen is 4.5 tons per day or 1,500 tons per year. The idea is to supply the transport sector in Croatia and use it for the refinery’s own consumption. Of note, INA already produces and uses hydrogen in the facility, but it is gray hydrogen – from natural gas.

Hydrogen will be stored at the same location in ISO containers on a total of 2,000 square meters.

Two more solar power plants in pipeline

Two photovoltaic power plants will be built for the operation of the electrolyzer, at two separate locations. They will provide part of the required electricity, while the remainder will be drawn from the grid.

Power plant FNE2 will be installed on one hectare and will have a capacity of 8 MW, while FNE3 will be located on 0.75 hectares with a capacity of 4.8 MW. The expected combined average annual electricity production is 18,000 MWh.

All the necessary infrastructure, such as substations, power lines, pipelines, will be built at the location for the future hydrogen station and two power plants, reads the request, which is one of the first steps in the implementation of the project.

Of note, in March of this year, Croatia adopted the 2050 hydrogen strategy.

INA is majority-owned by Hungarian MOL.