Energy systems aren’t changed overnight

Societal engagement is the common thread

Malin Dahlroth gives a determined and purposeful impression. She is Uniper's Head of Business Development in the Nordic region during a time when the business is developing faster than in a very long time within an industry that is traditionally very conservative. The traditional role of electricity producers is changing and the focus for Uniper is now directed towards more parts of the energy system.

The goal is still to provide both stable and fossil free energy - but now this can mean anything from developing energy storage solutions to producing hydrogen. Hydrogen, in particular, has great potential to bridge the gap between fossil-free electricity on the one hand, and the industry and heavy transportation on the other.

Changing an entire energy system isn’t done overnight, and leading Uniper's business development requires drive, innovation, and an unusually positive attitude. Who is Malin Dahlroth then, and what did the journey that led to the job as responsible for business development at one of Sweden's largest energy companies look like?

Malin’s career started in healthcare where she worked at the thoracic intensive care department at the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm.

- I am definitely the right person to have at hand should you suffer from heart problems, says Malin jokingly, but in a way that leaves no doubt in your mind that she means what she says.

Malin then changed career path, and after studying both law and economics she became a tax lawyer. She also worked as a tax crime investigator and has an interrogation training from the police academy under her belt. A future as prosecutor was in the cards, if E.ON had not recruited her as tax manager for E.ON Sweden. Malin was Uniper Sweden's CFO for five years, before she started her current role as business development manager for Uniper in the Nordics.

- The common thread in my life has always been the desire to do the right thing and contribute to a positive societal development, whether it is about healthcare, economic crime or the energy system. The most exciting thing about my job today is that I get to be involved and contribute to the future fossil-free and sustainable energy system, which is absolutely crucial in order for us to handle the current climate challenge, Malin emphasizes.

Malin Dahlroth, Head of Business Development at Uniper in the Nordics.

Hydrogen is the key to successful transition

For Malin, the climate is a matter of fate, and the energy system is both part of the problem and the solution. She herself drives an electric hybrid but would have liked to have a completely electric car - if only the charging infrastructure had existed. This is just one example of how each part of the chain is crucial for the bigger picture to work. While Uniper does not work with charging posts, they do work on solutions to make the Swedish process industry fossil-free. Part of the solution to that challenge is hydrogen.

- The climate goals within the EU and in Sweden are ambitious and hydrogen is an enabler for achieving them. In the short to medium term, it is primarily the industry that needs hydrogen in order to become fossil-free. One of our hydrogen projects is Project Air in collaboration with Fortum and the chemical company Perstorp. To manufacture sustainable products, Perstorp needs to replace its industrial process with sustainable methanol. Uniper's role here is to supply that process with fossil-free hydrogen, says Malin.

Heavy goods transports can also benefit from fossil-free hydrogen. It is one thing to electrify private motoring, but quite another to electrify a 70-tonne timber truck or a 200,000-tonne ship. Liquid or gaseous fuels will continue to dominate there. So-called electrical fuels can be produced with the help of hydrogen and together with captured biogenic carbon dioxide molecules from, for example, the forest industry, the gas can be converted into liquid fuel. Uniper has invested in the company Liquid Wind, which is designing for an electric fuel plant in Örnsköldsvik. The cost is still higher than for the fossil alternatives, but Malin has noticed a trend.

- The large companies have passed the point where they could choose the cheapest alternative without regarding climate goals. The companies have clear requirements to lower their climate footprint - so for us it is now a matter of being the most competitive fossil-free alternative. And either you hop on the train now, when there is transition support and investment grants to apply for, or you stay at the station, Malin says emphatically.

In the project BotnialänkenH2 in Luleå, Uniper is collaborating with the Port of Luleå and ABB to establish a plant for hydrogen production that can both be used by the local industry and exported internationally. Uniper is collaborating with the ports of Wilhelmshaven in Germany and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, which are both connected to the European gas infrastructure. In this way, Swedish fossil-free electricity production can be linked to the continent in yet another way.

In Sweden, the assessment is that hydrogen can be used in the process industry in the first hand, e.g. to produce fossil-free steel. Heavy goods transports that are difficult to electrify are another area with great potential. A third area is to use hydrogen to even out peaks and troughs in the electricity system.

Uniper is already producing hydrogen

Access to fossil-free electricity production is a necessity for there to be any point with hydrogen. And on that matter, Uniper has a clear advantage. The company accounts for up to a fifth of Swedish electricity production and has a number of facilities around the country, mainly relating to nuclear and hydropower.

- Not many people know that Uniper is already producing hydrogen in Sweden today. The plant is located at OKG's nuclear power plant outside Oskarshamn in Southeast Sweden, and has a capacity of 0.7 MW, says Malin.

The electricity market will require more flexibility

The Swedish electricity market has changed fundamentally in the last ten years. From a system with large and plannable production resources, organized around hydropower and nuclear power, to a significantly more volatile and decentralized system with large elements of weather-dependent electricity production. Malin describes how Uniper works in a structured way to find new business opportunities in a market where value creation is no longer only measured in terms of energy, but also in terms of stability and flexibility.

- We are constantly looking at how our existing facilities can be used for new purposes. Flexibility is key to stabilize the electricity system and meet the increased inflow of volatile electricity production, Malin explains.

The political leadership must take a step forward

The road towards a fossil-free society requires clear political leadership. There must be an increased collaboration between politics and business. The technologies that will be part of the solution are in many cases still immature and need support during a transition phase. Hydrogen is one such technology.

- The political leadership must take a step forward when it comes to hydrogen. Sweden is lagging in the development of hydrogen and needs to catch up with many of our neighboring countries. At an EU level, huge sums of money are being invested in the development of hydrogen, and Swedish politicians need to be actively involved in supporting the business community in order for Sweden to be able to take advantage of the support available. Without the right conditions, we and others will not be able to invest in Sweden, says Malin with clear sharpness.

It is easy to understand why Malin enjoys her job. Few are privileged with the opportunity to take a large energy company on a journey that in a few decades will have dismantled the national economy’s fossil-dependent base and replaced it with something new - which is still to be developed.

For the rest of us, Malin's story serves as inspiration. It may not be so important to follow a clear path if you always have a strong inner compass and drive guiding you along the way. In Malin's case, that driving force led all the way from the thoracic intensive care department at Karolinska Hospital to a job that is part of transforming Sweden's entire energy system.