Green Hydrogen – Pure Energy for a Cleaner Future

Green-Hydrogen Wind-Turbine

Green hydrogen is an important pillar of the energy transition, offering a route to decarbonization for hard-to-electrify sectors and replacing conventional hydrogen in industrial processes.

Understanding green hydrogen 

At OMV, green hydrogen is helping to decarbonize the production of our fuels and base chemicals — a move that supports our customers to cut their Scope 3 emissions. The use of green hydrogen will also help us to cut the carbon footprint of our refineries, reducing our Scope 1 emissions. 

Green hydrogen is chemically identical to conventional hydrogen. The critical difference is the method of production: Conventional “gray” hydrogen is produced from natural gas, releasing large amounts of CO2 as a by-product, while “green” hydrogen is produced from water using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, resulting in no CO2 emissions.
 

Green hydrogen at OMV

Our green hydrogen strategy centers around two key applications:

  • Sustainable fuels and chemicals: The hydrogen molecule is an essential feedstock for our fuels and base chemicals. To decarbonize their production, we’re planning to switch all of our grey hydrogen production at our Schwechat refinery to green.
  • Refinery operations: In the medium to long term, we’ll use green hydrogen as an energy carrier to improve the sustainability of energy-intensive operations at our refineries.


Lighthouse projects in green hydrogen  

  • Over the course of 2025, we’re commissioning our first electrolysis plant at the Schwechat refinery in Austria. The plant will have a production capacity of 10 MW, making it the largest operational electrolysis plant in Austria. The plant’s energy needs will be partially met by a modern wind turbine located in Lower Austria, operated by our partner WEB Windenergie AG 
  • Looking to the future, we’re advancing plans for a significantly larger electrolysis plant, with an annual production capacity of up to 200 MW. Subject to a final investment decision, operations are planned to begin in 2027. This new plant will be a lighthouse project, contributing to the Schwechat refinery’s annual hydrogen requirement of 40-60,000 metric tons by 2030.​

A new industrial era for Europe 

As Europe enters a new, cleaner industrial era, we’re working hard to drive change across some of the most challenging sectors to decarbonize.  

Green hydrogen has an essential role to play, decarbonizing processes where no alternative methods currently exist and to prevent industrial migration. As members of the Hydrogen Import Alliance Austria (HIAA) and shareholders in the HyCentA, one of Europe’s largest Hydrogen research centers, we are helping to accelerate the integration of green hydrogen into energy and industrial systems across Europe.  

The urgency of the fight against climate change is clear, and the time to act is now.