OMV Petrom Lifts Petrobrazi Electrolysis to 55 MW to Feed a 250,000-Tonne SAF Unit

OMV Petrom said all seven modules of its second green hydrogen electrolyser, rated 35 MW, have been delivered to the Petrobrazi refinery, taking installed electrolysis capacity on the site to 55 MW. The hydrogen is not being built for merchant sale: the two projects are sized to feed refining processes, including production of sustainable aviation fuel.

The ratio is the story. Combined output from the 55 MW of electrolysers is estimated at roughly 8,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year, against a SAF/HVO unit under construction at the same site with capacity of 250,000 tonnes a year. That is the order of magnitude majors weighing refinery decarbonisation against hydrogen trading have to work with: hydrogen as process input, sized to a fuels plant, rather than a product line.

The second project consists of seven electrolysis modules of 5 MW each, supplied by Neuman & Esser of Germany. Modules arrived at Petrobrazi over the past two months and are being integrated into refinery infrastructure. Construction work, logistics, component fabrication and module assembly on site are handled by Kraftanlagen Romania with local suppliers.

The 35 MW unit is expected to produce about 4,700 tonnes of green hydrogen a year from renewable electricity once operational. It sits alongside a previously announced 20 MW installation.

Public money covers part of the bill. The 35 MW project carries approximately EUR 29 million in non-repayable funding through Romania's National Recovery and Resilience Plan. News.ro reported that part of the investment funding for green hydrogen capacity at Petrobrazi comes from the plan.

Radu Caprau, the OMV Petrom executive board member responsible for refining and marketing, said reaching 55 MW is an important step for the refinery, and that construction of the SAF/HVO unit at 250,000 tonnes a year advances toward positioning the company as the first major producer of sustainable fuels in south-eastern Europe. The company describes itself as the largest integrated energy producer in south-eastern Europe.

According to the company statement, the SAF and HVO fuels produced can cut CO2 emissions by at least 65% across the full life cycle and are compatible with existing infrastructure. That drop-in compatibility is what makes refinery-attached electrolysis a different proposition from standalone hydrogen projects chasing offtake: the molecule never leaves the fence, and the marketable output is a liquid fuel that moves through installed pipes, tanks and aircraft.

Scale context from the wider group shows how small the hydrogen build is next to the incumbent business. OMV Petrom produced roughly 38 million barrels of oil equivalent of crude and gas at group level in 2025. Refining capacity runs to 4.5 million tonnes a year, and the group operates an 860 MW high-efficiency gas-fired power plant plus about 780 service stations under the OMV and Petrom brands.

Ownership is split between an Austrian parent and the Romanian state. At the end of 2025, OMV Aktiengesellschaft held 51.2% of OMV Petrom shares and the Romanian state 20.7%, with 28.1% free float on the Bucharest Stock Exchange.

The announcement drew coverage from four Romanian outlets on August 28, 2026: Economica, Ziarul Financiar, Profit and News.ro. The first recorded report came from Economica at 09:28, with News.ro publishing at 10:37, 69 minutes later. Prahovabusiness.ro carried the item the same day in its energy section.