Ånge municipality wins this year’s Hydrogen Award
With its unique combination of technical innovation, strategic collaborations and sustainable solutions, Ånge municipality has earned the Hydrogen Award 2024. Their successes are a source of inspiration for the whole of Sweden and show the possibilities of a fossil-free future, says Björn Aronsson, business manager at Vätgas Sverige.
From decommissioning to development
Ånge municipality has broken the trend. From being an emigration municipality where faith in the future was weak, it has now created an attractive place where residents choose to stay and new players seek to come. Through a pioneering investment in green industrial symbiosis, with hydrogen production as a hub, Ånge has turned his challenges into opportunities. The result is the conditions for innovation, green jobs and sustainable development.
– We have gone from being a municipality where faith in the future was weak to today being an engine for innovation and sustainable development. Through cooperation, courage and a clear vision, we have created the conditions for new investments, green jobs and a strengthened local economy. It is a journey that shows that even a smaller municipality can play a decisive role in the global transition towards a fossil-free society, says Erik Lövgren (S), chairman of the municipal board.
It all started with a napkin sketch
In 2019, Ånge faced major challenges. The municipality’s leaders recognized the need to identify their unique strengths: the availability of energy, land and infrastructure. With a history in hydrogen, where companies such as Nouryon and Permascand have been pioneers, there was already the basis for making a big investment.
Ånge’s success story began with a napkin sketch. The question was how to create conditions for growth in a municipality with large energy production and potential for energy-intensive industry. Together with RES, the first ideas were formed, and today that napkin sketch has turned into an agreement with Prime Capital. The agreement is the recently announced investment in a factory for fossil-free aviation fuel in Alby. British RES has signed a sales agreement with the German company Prime Capital, which plans to invest SEK 12 billion in the facility. The factory, which will be built in two stages, will produce 90,000 tons of jet fuel per year – equivalent to 4 percent of the EU’s needs in 2030. This investment is expected to create hundreds of new jobs and strengthen Ånge’s position as a leading player in the green transition.
World-class innovation
Ånge has developed unique solutions within green industrial symbiosis. Surplus heat and oxygen from hydrogen production can be used in land-based fish farming and greenhouses, creating circular flows and maximizing resource use. By using its resources smartly, the municipality has become a forerunner in climate-smart solutions.
Collaboration for success
The municipality’s successes would not have been possible without a strong collaboration between industry, academia and the public sector. A letter of intent was already written in 2021 with RES, and since then they have worked together to build local anchoring and create value that stays in the region. This cooperation has also contributed to increasing the acceptance of large investments, including wind power, which in turn has enabled the development of the energy-intensive industry. Thanks to a sense of purpose and close cooperation between business and the municipality, Ånge municipality has also been awarded the award “Best Growth 2024 in Västernorrland”.
Local value retention
An important part of the vision has been local value retention – to ensure that investments not only benefit industry but also give back to care, school and care. “Everything that happens in Sweden happens in a municipality, and something has to come back,” says Erik Lövgren (S), chairman of the municipal board. He adds, however, that the municipality has so far received no financial return and highlights the need for a system for risk sharing with the state.
Big congratulations to Ånge municipality for this well-deserved award!
Åsa Lyckström, board member Vätgas Sverige, Erik Lövgren, municipal councilor (S) Ånge, Tomas Widenfalk, project coordinator Ånge municipality, Björn Aronsson, operations manager Vätgas Sverige
