The green transition leads to a technological revolution in many sectors. Hydrogen economy is expected to be in an important role in the transition, especially in the North-Ostrobothnia region, where there is great potential for renewable energy production and the renewable energy may be used for producing renewable hydrogen. The hydrogen on the other hand can be utilized in regional and local industries and as a part of fossil free heavy-duty transport and energy solutions for buildings.

High-level experimental research requires advanced research infrastructures. The University of Oulu has established a national profile in hydrogen research (via the Research Council of Finland's national profiling project H2FUTURE). The research infrastructures implemented within this project will support the university’s world-class research, addressing short, medium, and long-term research and development challenges. The open research infrastructure managed by the universities also provides small and medium-sized enterprises with access to the latest experimental technologies for their product and process development, which would otherwise be too costly for them to acquire and maintain.

The RDI activities of the Oulu University of Applied Sciences (Oamk) have been and will continue to be instrumental in supporting regional industry and labor markets in a comprehensive manner. Oamk’s project activities are diverse, and the staff's expertise is of a high level, often rooted in backgrounds in manufacturing industries. The goal of these projects is to enhance regional well-being and competitiveness, promote business development, and foster the creation of new products, services, and operational models. Achieving these objectives requires advanced research infrastructures, which are being developed as part of this project.

The object of the procurement is a hydrogen power-to-power system that supports development and research work in the organizations mentioned above. The P2P system encompasses the essential components required for hydrogen production, consumption, and storage as a complete entity, enabling research use in accordance with the themes of hydrogen production, storage, and consumption. The hydrogen system operates as an integrated system, with a hydrogen electrolyzer utilizing either AEM or PEM technology to produce hydrogen, which is then stored in the metal hydride tank of the system. The stored hydrogen is consumed by a fuel cell for electricity generation. The system is connected to the laboratory electrical grid of the contracting entity. Additionally, the system is controlled via the SCADA automation system within the laboratory. The hydrogen system is installed indoors at the laboratory in its preliminarily designated location. The system must be suitable for indoor installation, and its ATEX classification must not alter the designated area into an ATEX-classified space.

The contracting entity is responsible for the construction of the technical environment and the costs incurred from it. The tenderer must include in their tender a description of the specific requirements that the tendered system imposes on the technical environment, if they differ from standard HVAC technology and electricity connections.

The procurement is funded by the Council of Oulu Region, State-of-the art H2 project. The contracting entity has a maximum sum of 235 000 EUR (excluding VAT) of project funding at its disposal and cannot accept tenders exceeding this amount.

The procurement is dependent on the continuation of the implementation period of the project. The procurement contract will be signed with the selected supplier if the funder grants the project an extension. The continuation of the project is expected to be confirmed in May-June 2025.