Located at its Rijeka refinery, the project will include a 10MW electrolyser plant provided by Ohmium that will be powered by an 11MW solar farm.

INA expects to produce 1,500 tonnes of green hydrogen per year, replacing grey hydrogen at the refinery and supplying emerging transport markets.

The first contract, worth €22.5m ($26.2m), was awarded to a Končar and Siemens Energy consortium to build the hydrogen production and distribution facilities. Meanwhile, Končar alone was awarded almost €11m ($12.8 m) to build the solar plant.

The project has secured up to €15m ($17.5m) in grants under the EU-backed National Recovery and Resilience Plan, marking INA’s first use of this funding stream.

“Our aim is to diversify our traditional portfolio with renewable energy sources,” explained Zsuzsanna Ortutay, President of INA’s Management Board.

“The renewable hydrogen we will produce can open up new opportunities for us in the market, as well as enhance the sustainability of our Rijeka refinery by reducing emissions.”

The 10MW unit is expected to be a step towards Croatia’s wider target of installing 70MW of hydrogen production by 2030.

Construction will begin following final permitting, with commissioning targeted for 2026 to 2027.