OMV Petrom SA has completed delivery of modules for a second electrolyzer to be added as part of the operator’s project to produce green hydrogen at its 4.5-million tonne/year (tpy) Petrobrazi refinery in southeast Romania, near Ploiesti City, about 60 km from Bucharest.
Currently under installation into the refinery’s existing infrastructure, all seven modules of 5-Mw each for the second electrolyzer were delivered to Petrobrazi over the past 2 months, OMV Petrom said in a release Aug. 28.
Completed delivery of modules for the second 35-Mw electrolyzer follows delivery of modules for the project’s first 20-Mw electrolyzer between March and June, according to previous releases from the operator.
With a combined capacity of 55 Mw, the 20-Mw electrolyzer will be equipped to produce about 3,000 tpy of green hydrogen, with the 35-Mw unit to add about 4,700 tpy of production for an overall green hydrogen production capacity upon full operation of 7,700 tpy.
OMV Petrom confirmed Neuman & Esser of Germany supplied the electrolyzer equipment, while Kraftanlagen Energies & Services SE’s subsidiary Kraftanlagen Romania SRL is handling on-site construction, logistics, fabrication of construction elements, and module integration.
The two electrolyzers received a combined €50 million in non-reimbursable financing through Romania’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, including about €21 million for the 20-Mw unit and €29 million for the 35-Mw unit, according to the operator.
OMV Petrom said Petrobrazi’s green hydrogen project required a total investment of about €190 million, up from its original estimate of €140 million upon first announcing the development in 2024.
SAF-HVO unit under construction
OMV Petrom will use carbon-free green hydrogen produced by the electrolyzers—which will use electricity from renewable sources to split water into hydrogen and oxygen—specifically will be integrated into hydrotreating processes at Petrobrazi’s previously announced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO, or renewable diesel) plant currently under construction.
At a total investment of €560 million and scheduled for startup in 2028, the SAF-HVO plant will be able to produce a combined 250,000 tpy of SAF and HVO from renewable feedstocks such as used cooking oil, other vegetable oils, and animal fats.
Undertaken for construction in 2025, the plant—which will be integrated with Petrobrazi’s existing fuel production, storage, and distribution infrastructure—also will produce bio-naphtha and bio-liquefied petroleum gas as by-products, all of which aims to help reduce Romania’s reliance on renewable fuel imports.
OMV Petrom said the plant’s full integration into existing refining operations will allow the company to adjust the product slate according to feedstock availability and market demand.
Wood Group PLC delivered engineering, procurement, and construction management contract for the project, which—once online—will use the Eni SPA-Honeywell UOP LLC codeveloped proprietary Ecofining process technology to maximize production of SAF and HVO.
OMV Petrom has said SAF and HVO produced with the refinery’s green hydrogen could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by at least 65% over the fuels’ life cycles.
New aromatics unit, wastewater system
Ahead of its green hydrogen project update, OMV Petrom also recently added a new aromatics unit and wastewater system to Petrobrazi operations.
Commissioned in June to replace an outdated unit, the new €140-million aromatics unit separates benzene from gasoline, increasing the refinery’s ability to produce toluene for petrochemical applications, including paints and adhesives, the company said.
Alongside supporting production of high-octane fuels, the unit—which has nameplate capacity to produce 50,000 tpy of benzene and 100,000 tpy of toluene—also aims to improve Petrobrazi’s product mix and energy efficiency while reducing environmental impact, OMV Petrom said.
Separately, the operator completed a €20-million modernization of Petrobrazi’s wastewater treatment systems in February.
The project involved covering existing tanks and installing systems to capture and treat gases from wastewater operations to help further reduce environmental impacts at the site.
