Finland signs three more Russian green MoUs

Finnish state utility Fortum has signed three further Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) regarding green energy in Russia following its MoU with Novatek, it said June 4. The announcements came at the end of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual event, where they were all signed.

The three MoUs were with major steel producer Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works (MMK), technology company Baker Hughes and the Anglo-Dutch major Shell. "The new agreements support Fortum’s strategy to partner with industrial and infrastructure customers to help them reduce the emissions of their operations," Fortum said.

Fortum owns the largest renewable energy supply portfolio in Russia of more than 2 GW, directly or through joint ventures. Its country head, Alexander Chuvaev, said: "We are convinced that green energy is able to support the decarbonisation of the most important sectors of the Russian economy. As for the energy industry, growing conscious demand for green energy from industrial customers is yet another market stimulus for commissioning new green energy generation capacities."

The agreement with MMK outlines MMK’s intention to use green energy in its production processes. Using green energy in the production processes will significantly decrease the carbon footprint of MMK’s products.

The agreement with Baker Hughes will maximise the share of green energy used by the company to power its facilities and operations in Russia. Baker Hughes has committed to achieve net-zero carbon equivalent emissions by 2050, Fortum said.

And Fortum will use the MoU with Shell as "a basis for the discussion of co-operation between the two companies on green energy and carbon capture projects. In addition, Fortum and Shell will explore possibilities for joint implementation of climate projects in Russia aiming at reducing greenhouse gas emissions," it said.