May 22 (SeeNews) - Romania's top oil and gas group, OMV Petrom [BSE:SNP], said on Monday that it will invest some 74 million euro ($80 million) in the construction of a hydrogen production capacity at its Petrobrazi refinery.
Of the budgeted amount, the company will finance up to 39 million euro through Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, OMV Petrom said in a press release, following the signing of a financing contract with the energy ministry.
OMV Petrom is expected to make the final investment decision next year. The 20 MW capacity is due for completion in 2025. It will use water electrolysis to produce around 2,600 tonnes of hydrogen per year, with the entire process to be powered by renewable energy.
"Green hydrogen opens new opportunities for a low carbon emissions economy. It will play an important role in decarbonizing refineries and in the sustainable transportation, whether we speak about road, railway, or air transport, being one of the solutions for the mobility of the future," said Radu Caprau, member of the company's executive board, responsible for refining and marketing.
Christina Verchere, CEO of OMV Petrom, noted that under its 2030 strategy, the company is committed to support the energy transition in Romania and in the region, with investments of around 11 billion euro until the end of this decade, out of which approximately 35% will support low and zero carbon projects.
Austria's OMV Group owns a 51.157% stake in OMV Petrom; Romania's energy ministry holds 20.698%, and 28.145% is in free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange.
Blue-chip OMV Petrom's shares traded 1.04% higher at 0.4862 lei as of 1135 CET on Monday on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.
($=0.924333 euro)
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