According to the European Commission’s decision, the Cloudberry project, which is part of the Vetyalfa’s Utajärvi complex, is to receive € 224 million in investment support. The Commission published the results of the auction on 7 May 2026.
The selected projects will receive a total of approximately € 1.09 billion in EU funding, of which the Finnish project would account for approximately € 224 million. This is the largest support ever granted to Finland from the EU Innovation Fund. The final amount will be specified when the approved projects sign a grant agreement with the European Agency for Climate, Infrastructure and Environment CINEA.
The Utajärvi refinery would be based on Finland’s strengths and local resources: renewable energy, a strong and continuously developing electricity grid and the separation of hydrogen from water. The maximum capacity of the electrolyzer would be 1000 MW, but the project could also be built in stages. Vetyalfa Oy has other hydrogen projects in the planning phase in Vaala, Kemijärvi and Rovaniemi, which are also being fully implemented.
Vetyalfa aims to produce a maximum of 180,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year at Utajärvi. The company’s plans include enabling the further processing of hydrogen along the value chain up to the production of synthetic fuels. At the same time, the value chain will be ensured to remain in Finland as comprehensively as possible.
At its broadest, it is the largest hydrogen economy project in Finland. Depending on its maximum capacity and further processing, the investment would be worth billions.
STT press release in Finnish. (Link opens to new window.)
Finnish Government press release. (Link opens to new window.)