The environmental impact assessment (EIA procedure) of VetyAlfa Oy’s green hydrogen refinery project in Liminkangas, Vaala, has progressed. A public event with a large number of participants was held in Vaala on 25 February 2026, and the coordinating authority has issued its statement on the EIA programme on 2 April 2026.
Nearly 70 people participated in the public event in February, as well as 30 people online. There were especially many leisure residents among the participants. The public was interested in the refinery’s water extraction from Lake Oulujärvi and its effects on leisure homes and the environment in general, such as fish. There were also questions about the visibility of the new transmission lines in the landscape.
The coordinating authority states that the environmental impact assessment can be carried out in accordance with the assessment programme, but proposes some clarifications to the impact assessment plan. The assessment programme states that the impacts of the refinery’s operations are likely to focus on impacts on waterways, traffic and the landscape.
The Liminkangas hydrogen refinery project is planning a renewable energy-based hydrogen separation and synthetic downstream production plant with a capacity of up to 1000 megawatts (MW). The plan is to build a solar power production area of about 120 megawatts in connection with the refinery, which will produce part of the electricity needed by the plant.
The area is located 25 kilometres east of the municipal centre of Vaala or roughly 100 kilometres east of the city Oulu in the vicinity of Highway 22 and the railway network. Fingrid Oyj’s 220 kV transmission line runs in the vicinity of the area. In addition, a new 400 kV substation and 400 kV and 110 kV transmission line connections are planned there.
If implemented, the project would bring significant employment and economic impacts to the municipality of Vaala. The refinery would employ more than a hundred people during its service life and several hundred during the construction phase. In addition, the project would increase the municipality’s tax revenue and strengthen its position as a growth municipality for green industry.
The EIA procedure and zoning of the Liminkangas refinery are scheduled to be completed in 2027.
Further information:
Antti Tanskanen, CEO of Alfa Group and CEO of VetyAlfa, tel. +358 44 977 0409
Reija Knuutila, Business Director of VetyAlfa, tel. +358 50 379 3735