AFRY to lead FEED for Uniper NorthStarH2 e‑methanol plant

Project overview

AFRY has been awarded the FEED for NorthStarH2, an e‑methanol production facility planned for Östersund, Sweden. The plant is designed to produce around 115,000 tonnes of e‑methanol per year to cut fossil emissions in hard‑to‑abate sectors such as transport and the chemical industry.

Feedstocks and process

Green hydrogen will be produced through electrolysis powered by 175 MW of renewable electricity. That hydrogen will be combined with biogenic CO₂ captured from Jämtkraft’s biomass‑fired heat and power plant in Lugnvik to deliver fossil‑free methanol made from renewable power and recycled biogenic carbon.

AFRY scope

AFRY’s assignment is a complete technical FEED covering strategies, plans and a cost estimate. The scope explicitly includes process design, plant engineering, operating philosophy, technical specifications, HSE in Design and coordination with OEM suppliers for electrolysis, carbon capture and methanol synthesis.

Timing and partners

The FEED work kicked off late August 2026 and is expected to run until Summer 2027, taking the project from early development towards a Final Investment Decision planned for 2028, with commissioning currently scheduled for 2031. NorthStarH2 is driven by Uniper through Sydkraft Hydrogen AB in cooperation with Jämtkraft.

Stakeholder remarks

"E‑methanol will play an increasingly important role in decarbonizing hard‑to‑abate sectors such as transport and chemicals. AFRY is honored to support Uniper in transforming this vision into a technically robust and investment‑ready project," says Guy Skantze at AFRY.

"NorthStarH2 is an important project in Uniper’s energy transition portfolio, and we are pleased that the FEED contract with AFRY is now in place. We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration and completing the FEED phase together," says Broghan Helgeson, NorthStarH2’s project manager at Uniper.