Energiequelle has received planning consent for its Oulu Green Hydrogen Park project. It is the company's first public hydrogen project in Finland and is to be developed in the city of Oulu, 600 kilometres north of Helsinki. The first phase of the project includes the construction of a hydrogen production plant with a maximum capacity of five MW and a hydrogen refuelling station for buses and heavy commercial vehicles.

"If the right market conditions are met, we expect the first phase to be ready by 2028. However, this is a major industrial project and investment, so the planning reservation we have now received is only one of the first steps towards making concrete investment decisions. In projects of this size, planning and studies are always carried out carefully," comments Karl Schultheis, Head of New Business Development at Energiequelle Finland.

In the next phase, the capacity of the hydrogen production plant would be increased by to 10-50 MW and hydrogen exports via the planned hydrogen pipeline and the port of Oulu could be an option, if the needed infrastructure is available. In the third phase, production would be further increased to an additional capacity of 100-500 MW. The schedule and full size of the project is highly depending on the market situation and the infrastructure available in the selected new greenfield site.

 The City of Oulu has reserved a total of three new hydrogen production and processing plants (including the Energiequelle project) on the same industrial site, with a combined potential capacity of maximum 1500 MW.

"We believe that Oulu's strategy of bundling several hydrogen production operators in the same area is the right one, as it supports the development of hydrogen transmission infrastructure in the region and sends a clear message to the energy-intensive industry that they can count on hydrogen production in the region in the future. This is exactly the kind of predictable investment environment and confidence-building policies we hope to see from local, national and European decision-makers", comments Nils Borstelmann, Managing Director of Energiequelle Finland

Energiequelle aims to replicate the concept already applied in Germany

The Oulu Green Hydrogen Park project is Energiequelle's first public hydrogen project in Finland, but the company has already gained experience in the European hydrogen market. In February, the group unveiled and opened the HY.City.Bremerhaven project in Germany, which was inaugurated by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"In cooperation with other hydrogen players, Energiequelle is part of a hydrogen production facility and refueling station for heavy vehicles in the German city of Bremerhaven, which is very similar to the first phase of the project now planned for Oulu. We therefore have strong belief, that the project will proceed successfully," says Michael Raschemann, the owner of the Energiequelle Group. He adds that of course the realization of the project will also depend on the investment environment and the market situation.

Finland would offer Germany a genuine market-based and clean alternative to natural gas

“From an international and European perspective, Finland has very good conditions and potential for the production of renewable energy and green hydrogen”, says Nils Borstelmann, and points that Finland has a potential to be a major actor in Europe’s energy production – and for Germany. “For several years now, energy in Finland has been one of the cheapest in Europe and already today 95% of Finland's electricity production is already emission-free and all new wind farms are also market-based, without any government subsidies”, Borstelmann continues. “Affordable and clean energy are prerequisites for market-based hydrogen production, as hydrogen and its derivatives require a lot of energy. With its extensive land area, Finland also has great potential to significantly increase quickly the production of renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, as the electrification of Europe progresses.”

Karl Schultheis comments: “Finland's national hydrogen strategy has set a target of producing 10% of all green hydrogen in the whole European Union, and Germany's national hydrogen strategy has outlined a national demand for hydrogen and hydrogen derivatives of 95-130 TWh by 2030, of which around 50-70% (45-90 TWh) will have to be imported. Finland and Germany are perfect energy partners”.

The Finnish state-owned gas transmission system operator Gasgrid Finland is planning to establish a hydrogen transport infrastructure to connect Finland and Europe. In January 2025, all Gasgrid’s three hydrogen transport infrastructure projects in Baltic Sea area were awarded financial support from the European Union.

 The Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project is developing hydrogen infrastructure connecting Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and German markets. The Nordic Hydrogen Route project is developing a hydrogen infrastructure between Finland and Sweden along the coastline of the Bothnian Bay. The Baltic Sea Hydrogen Collector project is developing an offshore hydrogen infrastructure to connect the Finnish, Swedish and Central European markets. These three projects aim to create excellent investment conditions for clean electricity, hydrogen and hydrogen processing plants nationally and in the wider Baltic Sea Region.

Energiequelle GmbH has been awarded contracts for five submitted wind farm projects in the latest onshore wind energy tender. With a total of 143 MW, the company has achieved a significant success and is pleased that these projects are now one step closer to realisation.

The awarded projects include planned wind farms in Schleswig-Holstein (Wulfshagen, eight turbines totalling 49.6 MW), Thuringia (Bilzingsleben, five turbines totalling 27.8 MW and Werther, four turbines totalling 27.2 MW), North Rhine-Westphalia (Minden, three turbines totalling 17.1 MW) and Lower Saxony (Lüben, five turbines totalling 21.3 MW).

Gregor Weber, Senior Vice President Project Management at Energiequelle, expressed his satisfaction with this success: “I am pleased that we were able to secure contracts for all submitted projects, allowing us to soon start construction in four federal states. This is another important step for Energiequelle and for our planning security.”

Overall, the company has already installed more than 850 turbines with a total nominal capacity of 1,700 MW.

Catherine Failliet has been managing Energiequelle SAS in France since 1 April. She succeeds Jan Ducouret, who is continuing his professional career on the other side of the Atlantic, and the previous Managing Director of many years, Robert Conrad.

She has been involved in the energy sector for over 20 years, both in France and in Europe, and has accompanied the transformation of the sector, not only in terms of sales, but also in terms of the evolution of the various professions and organisations. Her interest in people is reflected in her attention to clients and teams alike. Involved at a local level in structures such as POOOL or the BREIZH UP investment fund for economic development and education, she joins Energiequelle SAS to give a new dimension to her action in the energy transition.
“The development of renewable energies is an opportunity to get all citizens on board and will lead to a profound transformation of the electricity sector, in the service of a political and societal that has yet to be defined”, says Catherine Failliet about her motivation.

Michael Raschemann, CEO of the Energiequelle Group, is delighted that Catherine has taken over the management of Energiequelle in France: “I am very pleased that Catherine has taken over the management of Energiequelle in France. Thanks to her rich experience as a manager and her professionalism as well as her warm personality, she has quickly found her place in our French team. Her in-depth knowledge of the German-speaking market and culture enables us to set up an efficient collaboration with a great deal of mutual understanding. It's already clear that Catherine embodies Energiequelle's values.

To date, Energiequelle SAS has installed 280 MW in the wind and solar power sectors and is a recognised player in project development as well as a service provider for third parties. 

Energiequelle GmbH, together with the management and other shareholders of HY.City.Bremerhaven, opened the first hydrogen filling station in Bremerhaven last week. The guest of honor was the outgoing Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who gave the official starting signal. Together with the Managing Directors of HY.City.Bremerhaven, Andreas Wellbrock and André Steinau, as well as André Kiwitz from shareholder Green Fuels, SPD Member of Parliament Uwe Schmidt, Bremen's Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte and Melanie Jessen, Managing Director of general contractor GP JOULE HYDROGEN, he cut the ribbon to mark the official opening of the filling station. “We want to and will remain a strong, successful industrial country. We can only achieve this in the long term if we organize our prosperity in a CO2-neutral way,” he said in his speech under the roof of the new hydrogen filling station.

HY.City.Bremerhaven - thought locally, done locally
After almost five years of planning and construction, the regional, sustainable hydrogen ecosystem HY.City.Bremerhaven is now officially up and running. After a short test run, the filling station will open to everyone in March.

The hydrogen produced from renewable energies - and therefore green - will be supplied from HY.City.Bremerhaven's own nearby production facility. “By setting up the first hydrogen ecosystem, we have done pioneering work and created a beacon for Bremerhaven and the surrounding area,” says Managing Director Andreas Wellbrock.

The first filling station customer is BremerhavenBus GmbH, whose hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses will refuel there. BremerhavenBus itself is a shareholder in HY.City.Bremerhaven and has already converted part of its vehicle fleet to fuel cell buses.

Great importance of hydrogen production for the energy system
Hydrogen issues are also becoming increasingly important at Energiequelle. For Managing Director Michael Raschemann, hydrogen is an important building block for the success of the energy transition. Through the cooperation project, he hopes to gain important insights for future projects: “By demonstrating sector coupling, we are creating synergies that will enable us to use renewable energies more efficiently and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. This is our vision for a sustainable energy supply and a future worth living for generations to come.”

The HY.City.Bremerhaven project is part of the Hyways for Future market activation program for the transport-side establishment of green hydrogen in the Northwest metropolitan region. As part of the HyLand program of the National Innovation Program Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NIP2), it was funded with a total of 5.5 million euros by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport. The funding guideline is coordinated by NOW GmbH and implemented by Project Management Jülich (PtJ).

The permits for two Energiequelle GmbH wind farms in Germany were granted in December. In Lüben in Lower Saxony and Minden in North Rhine-Westphalia, preparations are now beginning for the tendering and construction of the eight turbines. The wind farms have a total capacity of 38.4 MW and will contribute to a sustainable energy supply in the regions in future.

Repowering in Minden
In Minden, in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Energiequelle is planning to dismantle two Enercon and three NEG Micon turbines as part of a repowering project. Three Nordex N149 turbines with a total height of 200 meters will then be installed. The new wind turbines each have an output of 5.7 MW and will increase the efficiency of the wind farm by more than 500 percent compared to the old farm. Jan Schrobsdorff, Project Manager at Energiequelle, is delighted that the decision was received in good time before Christmas: “After a lengthy development planning process and high bureaucratic hurdles, we were eagerly awaiting the approval. This is an important milestone in the project.”

Lüben wind farm
The BImSchG approval for the Lüben wind farm (municipality of Wittingen, Lower Saxony) was submitted in March of last year. Five Enercon E-138 turbines with a hub height of 160 meters and an output of 4.26 MW each are to be erected here. Lüben is Energiequelle's second wind farm in the municipality of Wittingen within a year. “Regional planning took more than ten years and demanded a lot of patience from us. The entire team is therefore very happy about the permit that we have been holding in our hands since December 20th” says Tina Hermerding, project manager in Wittingen.

All necessary steps and registrations for both parks are to be completed by February in order to participate in the next tender. Construction work is scheduled to begin this year, with commissioning planned for 2026.

In total, Energiequelle has received approvals for 15 projects with a nominal capacity of 290 MW (wind) and 74 MWp (PV) in 2024.

Energiequelle GmbH has put a wind turbine into operation in Ludwigsfelde. An Enercon E-138 with a hub height of 160 metres was erected on a landfill site in the Brandenburg district of Teltow-Fläming. The turbine has an output of 4.2 MW and produces electricity for around 5,000 households.

Approval for the project was granted in March 2023. Following a rejected appeal and legal action, construction of the turbine was able to begin in February last year. The plant has now successfully fed its first kilowatt hour into the grid.

Erik Klaus, Project Manager at Energiequelle GmbH, is delighted that the plant is now connected to the grid: ‘The commissioning of the new wind turbine is a significant milestone. The successful realisation shows the determination and commitment of everyone involved.’

The turbine is the 808th wind turbine erected by Energiequelle. Since its foundation in 1997, the company has connected more than 1,700 MW to the grid across Europe.