The €22 million investment will reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the Danube refinery by 25,000 tons. Thus, Mol will have the capacity to produce 1,600 tons of green hydrogen annually, emissions-neutral from the carbon dioxide perspective. The investment is part of the corporate strategy "Shape Tomorrow" of the group to contribute to increasing sustainability, competitiveness, and energy independence in the region.
The new technology will gradually replace the production process of natural gas-based fuel, which currently accounts for one-sixth of Mol's total carbon dioxide emissions. The factory will start production in the second half of 2024, and the company will mainly use green hydrogen in its network for fuel production.
The electrolysis equipment from Plug Power uses electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, meaning no polluting by-products are generated, the company stated. The facility produces 8-9 tons of pure oxygen for every ton of hydrogen. The American company has provided Mol with innovative and reliable technology: the hydrogen generators, optimized for pure hydrogen production, have a history of nearly 50 years of operational experience.
"The Mol Group has achieved another important goal: now we can produce green hydrogen without generating greenhouse gases. By applying this technology, we manage to reduce carbon emissions to an extent comparable to removing about 5,500 vehicles from traffic overnight. Today, our new green hydrogen plant makes Mol's industrial operations more sustainable, and in the future, it will provide solutions for the entire industry and hydrogen-based mobility. After Szazhalombatta, we will bring the technology to the other two fuel production units of the group, to make the fuel production process more sustainable at each of Mol Group's refineries," said Jozsef Molnar, CEO of the Mol Group, at the inauguration ceremony of the new green hydrogen plant, according to the cited document.
Mol is an international integrated oil, natural gas, petrochemical, and retail company headquartered in Budapest, Hungary. It operates in over 30 countries, with a workforce of 25,000 employees worldwide and over 100 years of industry experience. The Mol Group controls three refineries and two petrochemical units at the integrated supply chain management level in Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia. The company also has a network of nearly 2,400 service stations in 10 countries in Central and Southeast Europe. Currently, production activities are carried out in 9 countries, and exploration in 14 countries.
