Get to know us and our operations
Explore our methane business and its services.
Explore the services and operations of our LNG-terminal.
Explore hydrogen development and hydrogen projects.
Read our newest news, press releases and articles.
03.07.2026
Without infrastructure, there would be no market: hydrogen infrastructure, storage facilities, the power grid and flexibility will determine whether or not the projected growth materialises. A discussion among energy sector experts at the Hydrogen Arena, at SuomiAreena in Pori provided an insight into the development prospects and needs of the energy sector.
The “Bottleneck or superpower: Finland’s energy infrastructures in the future” panel held at the Hydrogen Arena at SuomiAreena 2026 included Olli Sipilä, CEO of Gasgrid Finland, Asta Sihvonen-Punkka, President & CEO of Fingrid, Olli Sirkka, CEO of Helen Group, and Leena Sivill, Senior Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
Olli Sipilä from Gasgrid said that moves are currently being made in Finland to lay the groundwork for the country’s energy system to 2035. Sipilä pointed out that clean electricity and a sufficient electricity supply are key to the energy transition.
“Finland ranks among the top countries in Europe in terms of access to clean electricity,” he said.
Asta Sihvonen-Punkka from Fingrid thinks that Finland has seen rapid development which has led to the construction of a lot of wind power and some solar power.
“As a transmission system operator, Fingrid pays particular attention to the development needs of the grid,” Sihvonen-Punkka said, pointing out that the company has a €5 billion investment plan for the next ten years.
“We forecast that electricity consumption may even double by 2035. A major and fundamental change is coming to the energy infrastructure.”
Olli Sirkka from Helen Group stated that Finland must create a system that adapts to weather conditions and makes full use of market-based flexibility.
“We need to make this flexibility profitable.”
Sirkka thanked the involvement of electricity consumers, such as the forest industry, in the electricity flexibility and called on other actors to join in.
Leena Sivill from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment considered that Finland has great potential in the clean transition, also in a business sense.
“We now need to attract electricity-intensive industry with high added value to Finland, because Finland is able to offer a uniquely good operating environment for actors in the sector.”
Fossil fuels will continue to be needed, especially during times of high electricity demand. They play an important role in ensuring security of supply. Olli Sirkka pointed out that natural gas, for example, is a significant safety net during severe cold spells, when energy demand is high.
Sihvonen-Punkka agreed: gases are a “sensible bridge” and a good transitional solution.
”We must have energy-secure capacity available.”
Olli Sipilä pointed out that Finland has the potential to gradually produce and add clean methane to the infrastructure.
“We can increase the amount of clean methane in the system flexibly while increasing energy self-sufficiency.”
There are plans for a 1,300-kilometre hydrogen pipeline in Finland, which is intended to deliver added value to businesses and society. When asked about the emerging hydrogen economy, Sipilä replies that Finland is only now beginning to understand the combined value of flexibility, logistics and storage that the hydrogen network will provide.
“A couple or three years ago, it was considered that it would pay to include a hydrogen infrastructure in the national energy system, and this goal remains unchanged,” Sipilä said.
Last year, we drew up a route plan for the planned hydrogen pipeline and started an environmental impact assessment (EIA). In addition, Gasgrid Finland has held dozens of voluntary landowner events across Finland in order to discuss the planned hydrogen infrastructure and its impacts as openly as possible with various stakeholders. There are 14,000 landowners on the route alone.
Sipilä said that he has been positively surprised by the dialogue taking place. Farmers have naturally had concerns, for which Gasgrid has been able to provide information to allay.
“Once the pipeline has been dug into a field, for example, the terrain will be restored. After this, cultivation can continue and machinery can move normally in the area,” Sipilä explains.
“Our survey shows that 80% of Finns believe that the construction of a hydrogen economy in Finland is a good thing and that the direction is the right one.”
The gas network is also a very resilient system: according to Sipilä, the last supply interruption occurred more than ten years ago. A highly decentralised energy system is less vulnerable.
Leena Sivill, senior ministerial adviser, thought that while licensing is challenging, it needs to be done wisely in infrastructure construction. In addition, the market entry of hydrogen production and consumption has so far been uneven.
“This calls for long-term work. Demand for hydrogen will come slowly in the hydrogen economy, as the regulations set by the EU, for example, will not start to impact until the 2030s.
Sihvonen-Punkka from Fingrid is concerned that Finland is hesitant to take the necessary steps towards a hydrogen economy, even though now is the time to learn from the lessons of the demonstration projects and scale them up.
“This is Finland’s opportunity, a competitive edge that must be used.”
Sivill also believes that “very great projects” can be launched in Finland and that the competitive advantage can be used.
“We’re not going to be left behind in this industry.”
Sihvonen-Punkka considered Finland’s electricity grid to be in exceptionally good shape, probably the best in Europe. You can also get an electricity connection faster here than elsewhere.
Sipilä and Sihvonen-Punkka say that in a country like Finland, it also makes sense for the electricity and gas infrastructure to work together.
“Finland is 20 years ahead of others in terms of power networks if you consider infrastructure condition and our electricity expertise,” Sipilä from Gasgrid considers.
Story: Sami AnteroinenPhotos: Gasgrid
Read more:Current state of gases reviewed and bold look to the future at SuomiAreena
Aiheet
01.07.2026
29.06.2026
