VTT will increase Finland’s expertise in developing clean energy solutions, €22.8 million for the development of clean energy solutions – including hydrogen

VTT will increase Finland’s expertise in developing clean energy solutions, EUR 22.8 million for the development of clean energy solutions – including hydrogen.

Thanks to European Union funds, VTT opens research positions and a postdoctoral program supporting sustainable development in Finland and invests in clean energy infrastructure.

The EU aims to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to clean energy. To take concrete action, the EU launched the REPowerEU plan as part of the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). VTT has just launched three strategic research positions and a postdoctoral program as part of the implementation of the REPowerEU chapter of Finland’s Recovery and Resilience Plan.

One of Finland’s goals is to support research and development activities focusing on clean energy solutions. VTT’s first research opening focuses on storing electricity and accelerating clean energy production, the second on improving energy efficiency in industry, and the third on renewable hydrogen economy solutions. VTT received EUR 22.8 million for the development of clean energy solutions.

Jussie ManninenExecutive Vice President of the Carbon Neutral Solutions Business Area at VTT said:

Research projects worth €17.8 million just launched will not only aim to significantly reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency, but will also create opportunities for new types of enterprises and business models.

“The goal is to develop solutions for both domestic use and export,”

Increasing the production of clean energy goes hand in hand with a fundamental change in heavy industry. Improvements are needed both in energy and material efficiency and in the decarbonization of processes themselves. Therefore, research topics are cross-cutting and cover value chains.

Tua HuomoExecutive Vice President of the Sustainable Products and Services Business Area of ​​VTT said:

For example, carbon capture and industrial reuse are linked to the hydrogen economy, which in turn is linked to energy storage.

“The production of raw materials for renewable plastics or fuels requires hydrogen and carbon. On the other hand, hydrogen can be produced using electricity when there is excess renewable energy production.”

The postdoc program recruits the best experts in the energy industry

VTT has already carried out pioneering research and development to promote renewable energy solutions. The aim is now to increase expertise and develop solutions to address bottlenecks associated with the green transition, such as the adequacy of electricity storage capacity, the availability of critical materials and hydrogen safety challenges. This requires new expertise, so research vacancies include an extensive postdoctoral program. The program recruits the best experts from Finland and abroad, and EUR 3.4 million has been allocated for this purpose.

Jussie Manninen says:

“With REPowerEU funding, we are deepening our cutting-edge energy research and developing solutions that accelerate the commercial adoption of key clean energy technologies in Finland. The postdoctoral program also helps us attract leading international researchers to Finland,”

VTT is investing in clean energy pilot infrastructure and building process development facilities at Bioruukki, as well as research and product development services. The EUR 5 million allocated from the REPowerEU envelope for the expansion of the pilot infrastructure is part of VTT’s total investment (EUR 21.3 million) in Bioruukki. REPowerEU funding covers part of the hydrogen and zero-emission transport infrastructure and research equipment. The clean energy testing and piloting infrastructure will be used for industrially important research and development projects such as hydrogen technologies, reducing the industrial carbon footprint, transportation and energy storage.

Three strategic research stations launched: Electricity storage and accelerating clean energy, industrial energy efficiency and low carbon, as well as the renewable hydrogen economy, the postdoc program and the development of the Bioruukki pilot infrastructure are part of the additional REPowerEU investment allocation and the reform program for sustainable growth in Finland prepared by Ministry of Economy and Employment, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, for which Finland has reserved a total of EUR 127 million. A total of EUR 22.8 million of RePowerEU funds allocated to research institutes was allocated to VTT research wells. The ministry responsible for the project towards the European Commission is the Ministry of Economy and Labor.

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VTT will increase Finland’s expertise in developing clean energy solutions, EUR 22.8 million for the development of clean energy solutions – including hydrogen. source