The HyTruck project, part of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme, aims to help public authorities and businesses accelerate the deployment of hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS) across the Baltic Sea Region. The project has developed spatial planning tools, stakeholder frameworks, and regional pilot concepts to address the well-known “chicken-and-egg” challenge of hydrogen infrastructure.
Urban and climate goals from the City of Helsinki
Reetta Koskela, Project Manager at the City of Helsinki, emphasized the city’s ambitious climate goals: achieving carbon neutrality by 2030 and becoming carbon negative after 2040. While emissions from heating and electricity are falling fast, transport now accounts for over 60% of the city’s emissions. Heavy-duty vehicles and waterborne transport are projected to be the main sources of emissions by 2040.
While electrifying city logistics is feasible, long-distance transport will require scalable, zero-emission alternatives such as hydrogen. Koskela highlighted the role of land use planning in enabling infrastructure like truck rest areas and HRS. She also introduced MADLESS, a new EU-funded project that brings stakeholders together to reduce emissions from logistics through concrete measures and scalable solutions.
Helen’s Vuosaari hydrogen hub gets underway
Saara Viik, Business Development Manager at Helen, presented the company’s 3H2 – Helsinki Hydrogen Hub, a flagship project under construction in Vuosaari. The plant will feature a 3 MW electrolyser producing green hydrogen from renewable electricity, with a refuelling station planned in cooperation with Vireon. The concept combines local green hydrogen production, hydrogen mobility, and efficient energy use by capturing waste heat for district heating.
Helen aims to become one of the largest green hydrogen producers in Finland. Viik stressed the importance of starting small, gaining operational experience, and scaling up based on real-world learnings.
Speed Oy calls for practical infrastructure for real-world logistics
From the logistics sector, Tomi Piskunen, CEO of Speed Oy, outlined the company’s roadmap to carbon neutrality by 2030. Speed already operates a modern fleet of high-capacity trucks, with emissions 20–40% lower than industry averages. To meet future goals, the company sees hydrogen-powered vehicles as the only viable zero-emission option for long-haul, high-payload transport.
Piskunen called for hydrogen stations that are designed with real logistics needs in mind, especially regarding truck size, layout, and turnaround time. He also highlighted the importance of early cooperation between station developers and fleet operators to ensure locations are viable and efficient.
Next steps
The HyTruck project will conclude with its final conference on 12 November 2025 in Helsinki. The event will be open to all interested stakeholders. More details will follow later this year.
Learn more about the project and its outcomes: HyTruck project website