ORLEN has taken a significant step in advancing Europe’s hydrogen and sustainable fuels value chain by signing strategic cooperation agreements with three leading Finnish clean energy developers, including an InnoEnergy-backed company. Supported by Business Finland, the partnership strengthens cross-border collaboration between Poland and Finland to accelerate the deployment of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives across Europe.
Scaling eSAF for Europe’s Aviation Transition
As part of this collaboration, this new venture is developing a large-scale electro-based Sustainable Aviation Fuel (eSAF) production facility in Kuopio, Finland, with a planned capacity of approximately 50,000 tonnes per year from 2031. The project uses renewable hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ and has recently been awarded a €150 million tax incentive by the Finnish state, underlining its strategic importance for Finland and Europe.
Backed and initiated by InnoEnergy, this company is designed as a replicable industrial model, with the ambition to deploy five eSAF plants across the Nordic region by 2040, supporting Europe’s aviation decarbonisation and energy sovereignty objectives.
A Finnish-Polish Collaboration for Industrial Scale-Up
Through this collaboration, ORLEN will work with its Finnish partners to define future supply models for renewable hydrogen, hydrogen derivatives, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels, as well as the logistics required to transport these fuels from Finland to Poland.
ORLEN also plans to leverage its extensive expertise in underground gas storage and energy infrastructure to support hydrogen transmission and storage, reinforcing security of supply while enabling the wider adoption of renewable hydrogen in transport and industry.
Building Europe’s Clean Energy Value Chains
This partnership marks another milestone in ORLEN’s energy transition strategy to 2035 and demonstrates how InnoEnergy-backed innovation, combined with national support mechanisms and industrial leadership, can accelerate the creation of competitive, cross-border clean energy value chains.
By connecting Finnish renewable fuel production with Polish industrial demand, the collaboration contributes to Europe’s ambition to scale zero-emission fuels, strengthen energy resilience, and move from pilot projects to industrial-scale deployment.
