Hydrogen at the heart of Trelleborg's system of energy solutions
Pamela Largue
Posted on: 10 July 2025
The municipality of Trelleborg is on a mission to decarbonise, using hydrogen to transform systems from the Port to the wider community.
Enlit on the Road headed to the Port of Trelleborg to hear from Magnus Sahlin, CEO of Trelleborgs Energi, about the city's decarbonisation plans and why hydrogen takes centre stage in the Port's efforts to go green.
Trelleborg, Sweden's southernmost municipality, is on a mission to boost economic activity while meeting decarbonisation goals.
Being home to Scandinavia’s largest roll-on roll-off gateway, processing over 850,000 trucks a year, the Port of Trelleborg is making emissions reduction critical to the municipality's energy transition.
“We try to have the city grow in a sustainable way without increasing the energy consumption,” Sahlin explains during the visit of Enlit on the Road. “Based on that, we saw a great need for developing a more crisp energy plan for the local energy systems.”
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This crisp energy plan focuses on several key systems.
“The backbone, I would say, is the fossil-free heating,” Sahlin says. “And to that we add energy efficiency, renewable electricity production, and also storage—in hydrogen predominantly.”
Hydrogen's role in transforming energy systems
Hydrogen, in particular, plays a central role in Trelleborg’s strategy, particularly in sectors such as transportation and new urban developments.
Trelleborg Energi has partnered with the French company Lhyfe to build a 10MW hydrogen factory. A portion of this hydrogen will supply a fueling station, expected to open within a year.
“It starts with the transportation sector, with all the trucks coming into the harbour,” Sahlin notes, adding they soon expect the number of trucks being processed to reach 1.5 million per yer.
Besides transportation, Trelleborg also aims to combine low-temperature district heating with storage in hydrogen to create resilient, off-grid energy solutions for new neighbourhoods. According to Sahlin, this will enable energy independence for up to seven days in case of emergencies like natural disasters or conflicts.
And despite the global fluctuations in enthusiasm for hydrogen, Sahlin remains confident in its promise.
“Yes, there is not the same buzz around hydrogen as it might be some years ago,” he acknowledges. “But still, the planet we're living on is in a very bad shape. We do believe that hydrogen is a key factor to solve that puzzle around energy and security of supply.”
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The city is also investing heavily in renewable energy. Sahlin highlights the two new wind turbines recently opened in the harbour, which produce around 15GWh of electricity annually.
“The harbour also has a solar park, and we are focusing a lot on new renewable energy production.”
Reflecting on lessons learned, Sahlin stresses the importance of collaboration, persistence, and communication, all necessary elements to decarbonise Trelleborg's energy systems.
