EIB lends €450m to OMV for Bruck green hydrogen plant

Financing

The European Investment Bank is providing a €450 million loan to OMV for a green hydrogen production facility in Bruck an der Leitha, covering nearly three-quarters of the project's estimated €600 million cost. The loan is the EIB’s largest-ever financing in Austria’s energy sector and the plant is already under construction with operations expected by the end of 2027.

Technical details and emissions impact

The plant will feature a 140 MW electrolyser powered by renewable electricity and is expected to produce up to 23,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen annually, placing it among the five largest in Europe. Hydrogen will be transported through a 22-kilometre pipeline to OMV’s Schwechat refinery, progressively replacing fossil-based hydrogen and reducing the refinery’s direct CO₂ emissions by up to 150,000 tonnes per year—around 10% of current direct emissions. The project also creates a basis for future production of sustainable aviation fuels and other low-carbon products.

Strategic context

The operation reinforces the EIB’s role as the EU Climate Bank and advances its TechEU initiative by strengthening Europe’s electrolysis value chain. EIB Vice-President Karl Nehammer framed green hydrogen as central to Europe’s competitive, climate-neutral and secure energy system. OMV’s CFO Reinhard Florey described the loan as a strong signal of confidence in OMV’s transformation strategy and said the project is of strategic importance for Austria and Europe.

OMV strategy

Under its Strategy 2030, OMV is expanding renewable hydrogen and renewable fuels production as part of its pathway towards net-zero emissions by 2050, with the Bruck project expected to become a cornerstone by replacing fossil-based hydrogen in refinery operations.