Wärtsilä Signs Pact On Renewable Fuels

Wärtsilä and Q Power Oy, a Finnish pioneer in biomethanization, have signed a cooperation agreement designed to accelerate the development and commercialization of renewable fuels.

The companies said they will work to further develop the market and to find business opportunities for biomethanization and synthetic fuels globally. The first target of the cooperation is to showcase a mobile demonstration plant at the Finnish pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai between October 2020 and April 2021.

Q Power’s patented biomethanization concept helps in the transition towards renewable fuels, which are produced by taking CO2 from the atmosphere or industrial processes and combining it with hydrogen. Biomethanization is a Power-to-X technology for producing synthetic methane. Synthetic methane and other synthetic fuels are essential steps on the path to decarbonizing the energy, transportation and industrial sectors and moving towards a 100% renewable energy future.

“This is a perfect example of Wärtsilä’s ambitious vision of a 100% renewable energy future and demonstrates the concrete actions we want to take to develop smart technologies for sustainable societies,” said Jaakko Eskola, President & CEO, Wärtsilä Corporation. “We are extremely happy and eager to work with Q Power to develop technology and concepts that help the world take concrete steps on the path towards 100% renewables.”

Q Power is a Finnish start-up company that develops renewable energy solutions. Q Power’s patented biological methanization technology produces biomethane from hydrogen and carbon dioxide. The company’s focus is on delivering concrete solutions for fighting climate change. Emissions and waste are raw materials that can be used to significantly increase sustainable biomethane production. The company was founded by Ilkka Herlin and Saara Kankaanrinta.

Wärtsilä said the collaboration with Q Power is a continuation of the company’s way of working with start-ups and collaborating with other energy players to develop and scale up technologies and business opportunities that support a 100% renewable energy future.

“We are thrilled to start working with a global energy leader like Wärtsilä to take forward our unique biomethanization technology,” said Herlin, chairman of the Board of Q Power Oy. “We see that this partnership provides great value for both parties as well as for society as a whole. Contributing to decarbonisation is our goal, and our technologies are already available today. With this cooperation we’re able to ramp up the technology to a global scale.”