MOL launches largest green hydrogen plant in Central Europe

MOL Group, a leading integrated oil, gas, petrochemicals, and consumer retail company headquartered in Budapest, Hungary, has inaugurated a state-of-the-art green hydrogen plant in Százhalombatta, Hungary, marking a significant milestone in the region’s sustainable energy landscape. With a capacity of 10 megawatts, the EUR22 million (USD23.7 million) facility stands as the largest green hydrogen plant in Central and Eastern Europe.

The plant is set to revolutionise fuel production by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25,000 tonnes annually at the Danube Refinery, one of the key industrial facilities in Hungary. MOL Group anticipates producing 1,600 tonnes of clean, carbon-neutral green hydrogen each year, heralding a new era in the hydrogen economy. This aligns with MOL’s SHAPE TOMORROW corporate strategy, aiming to enhance the region’s sustainability, competitiveness, and self-sufficiency.

Equipped with a 10-megawatt electrolysis unit from Plug Power, the green hydrogen plant underscores MOL Group’s commitment to providing solutions for a sustainable future. The investment will not only diminish the refinery’s carbon footprint but also replace a significant portion of the natural gas-based production process, which currently contributes to one-sixth of MOL’s total carbon emissions. Production is expected to commence in the second half of 2024, with the green hydrogen primarily utilised within MOL’s own network for fuel production.

The innovative electrolysis technology employed by Plug Power harnesses electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, ensuring a pollution-free process. This technology is set to yield 8-9 tonnes of pure oxygen for every tonne of hydrogen produced.

József Molnár, CEO of MOL Group, highlighted the plant’s significance at the inauguration ceremony: “We can now produce green hydrogen without generating any greenhouse gases. Using this technology, we are able to achieve the same emissions reduction as if we took roughly 5,500 cars off the road overnight.”

“As a potent way to reduce carbon emissions within refinery operations, we are proud to equip MOL with cutting-edge electrolyzer technology to efficiently produce green hydrogen,” said said Plug CEO Andy Marsh.

MOL Group’s vision extends beyond this project, with plans to implement the green hydrogen technology in other fuel production units across the group’s refineries, further enhancing the sustainability of its operations. The company aspires to transform its traditional fossil-fuel-based operations into a low-carbon, sustainable business model, aiming to achieve net carbon neutrality by 2050 and shape the low-carbon circular economy in Central and Eastern Europe.