- Subject green hydrogen production facility, with a total investment of EUR 600mn, is currently under construction in Lower Austria
- Green hydrogen from the facility will support the decarbonization of OMV’s Schwechat refinery while contributing to Europe’s energy transition
- At 140 MW, the facility will rank among Europe’s largest green hydrogen plants and become Austria’s largest of its kind
The European Investment Bank ('EIB') has granted a EUR450 million loan to support the construction of OMV’s green hydrogen production plant, which is set to significantly contribute to the decarbonization of the Schwechat refinery in Lower Austria.
With a total investment of EUR 600 million, this 140 MW plant in Bruck an der Leitha is currently under construction and scheduled to commence operations by the end of 2027. Using renewable energy, OMV will produce up to 23,000 tons of green hydrogen per year.
The new facility will enable the local production of green hydrogen and significantly enhance the sustainability of fuel and chemical products at OMV’s Schwechat refinery. OMV estimates an annual reduction of approximately 150,000 tons of carbon emissions*, corresponding to approximately 10 percent of the Schwechat refinery's current direct emissions.
'The European Investment Bank’s loan commitment is a strong signal of confidence in OMV’s transformation strategy and our ability to deliver large-scale projects that drive industrial decarbonization,' said Reinhard Florey, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of OMV. 'Producing green hydrogen in Austria enables us to increase the captive use of more sustainable energy in our production and for our innovative products. The construction of one of Europe’s largest green hydrogen plants marks a major milestone in the decarbonization of our industrial processes and underscores our ambition to actively shape the energy transition in Austria and beyond.'
'Green hydrogen is a cornerstone of Europe’s transition to a competitive, climate-neutral and secure energy system,' said EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer during the site visit. 'By supporting green hydrogen production at industrial scale, we are strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, reinforcing our energy security and helping decarbonise refining by replacing fossil-based hydrogen with renewable hydrogen. This investment also lays the foundation for the future production of sustainable aviation fuels, supporting the EU’s climate and energy security objectives.'
Under OMV Strategy 2030, the company focuses on capturing market growth for renewable fuels and sustainable chemical feedstock and aims at a production capacity of approximately 900 kilotons by 2030. Key assets already in operation include a co-processing plant and a 10 MW green hydrogen facility at the Schwechat refinery in Austria. Projects currently under execution include a Sustainable Aviation Fuel/Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil plant at the OMV Petrom Petrobrazi refinery, as well as additional 20 MW and 35 MW green hydrogen projects in Romania, operated by OMV Petrom, and the 140 MW green hydrogen plant under construction in Austria. Together, these investments support OMV’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
*Based on OMV’s internal calculations on planned annual hydrogen production.
Source: OMV
