As the flow of cargo from Russia and Belarus decreases, the port of Liepāja is thinking about how to make money through something else, and Liepāja Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Bureau is trying to attract investors who want to work in the field of green energy. A contract has already been concluded with "Van Oord" to establish a support base for offshore wind farms.
The owners of the hydrogen plant planned in the port – CIS Liepāja Ltd – are thinking more about export opportunities to Germany and other EU Member States, where it will be used in the transport and energy sectors.
"It's just the beginning. The EU climate-neutral scenario requires a total hydrogen production of 60 million tonnes by 2050. We plan to produce 150 thousand tons here, so we are also looking at other potential production sites in Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland. The future market for hydrogen is huge, and it is a great opportunity not only for Latvia but especially for Liepāja to become the first base of a large hydrogen plant in Europe," said Tor-Arne Pedersen, representative of "CIS Liepāja".
Liepaja was chosen as the site of the hydrogen plant because of the port and the planned wind farms. In cooperation with local training institutions, it is planned to create a new program for the training of qualified specialists.
The new plant promises to create 100 new jobs. The total investment could amount to about a billion euros, and Liepāja SEZ's administration hopes for government support.
"CIS Liepāja" was created by Latvian and Nordic entrepreneurs, whose managing partner is a Norwegian company with experience in the production of hydrogen "Clean Industrial Solutions Holding". According to them, the plant's operations will have no impact on the environment or the health of residents. The development of a future plant project will follow in the near future.
