Romanian oil and gas producer OMV Petrom has received the first electrolyzer module for its 20MW green hydrogen-based e-fuel production facility at its Petrobrazi refinery.
The PEM module, the first of four, will produce up to 3,000 tons of green hydrogen annually by 2028, which will be used to produce 250,000 tons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel.
These units are sourced from the German engineering company Neuman & Esser. Once operational, they will be partially powered by a 7-megawatt solar power plant located on the Petrobrazi site, which was commenced by OMV Petrom in February this year.
OMV Petrom, a subsidiary of Austrian oil refiner OMV, said the remaining three modules would follow soon.
Petrobrazi's e-fuel program has secured a €750 million (US$863 million) investment from OMV Petrom, which plans to invest approximately €11 billion (US$12.7 billion) by 2030 to support Romania's energy transition.
In January 2024, the Romanian National Recovery and Resilience Plan, supported by the European Commission, also provided €50 million (US$58 million) in funding for the project to build its green hydrogen component.
The site plans to build another 35MW plant, bringing the total annual production of green hydrogen to 8,000 tons, and potentially producing over 660,000 tons of e-fuels.
The timetable for the second system has not been announced yet.
Radu Căprău, a member of the Executive Board of OMV Petrom, stated that the delivery of this module marks a milestone for the company in its journey to become a leading producer of e-fuels in Southeast Europe.
