Stargate Hydrogen today announced the appointment of Petri Sarnes as Country Director for Finland, further strengthening the company's commercial presence in one of Europe's most active emerging hydrogen markets. The appointment supports Stargate Hydrogen's expansion across the Nordics as industrial companies increase investments in green hydrogen production and infrastructure.
Credit: Stargate Hydrogen
Petri Sarnes, Country Director for Finland
Finland has positioned hydrogen as a strategic part of its industrial and energy transition. The country is advancing large-scale production facilities, cross-border transport infrastructure, and export capabilities, while attracting substantial public and private investment into the sector. Stargate Hydrogen has steadily expanded its presence in Finland over the past few years. In late 2024, the company signed a partnership with ABB and LUT to study shunt currents in Alkaline electrolysis. During the same period, the company signed a partnership with VTT to support the testing and development of its next-generation alkaline electrolyser technology. At the end of 2025, Stargate Hydrogen joined the H2 Springboard ecosystem, led by ABB, to help advance Finland's hydrogen economy, and in early 2026, the company successfully delivered a 1 MW alkaline electrolyser system to Fortum's Kalla Test Center in Loviisa, marking another step in the company's growing role in the Finnish market.
Today, Sarnes brings to Stargate Hydrogen more than four decades of leadership experience across the energy sector. His impressive journey includes spearheading a conventional island in a green field 1200MWe new nuclear plant project, being the Co-founder of a deep-tech plastic waste re-circulation startup company, and holding several senior positions at Siemens, where he worked extensively in nuclear energy, oil and gas, power generation and renewable energy. His technical expertise will support Stargate Hydrogen's efforts to serve Finnish industrial customers seeking high-efficiency electrolysis solutions.
The appointment marks another large step in Stargate Hydrogen's strategy to establish a stronger local presence in markets where demand for green hydrogen technologies is growing rapidly. With dedicated leadership in Finland, the company aims to build a local team to ensure close collaboration with project developers, EPC contractors, industrial customers and energy companies as projects move from planning into execution.
"Finland is one of Europe's most promising hydrogen markets, with abundant renewable electricity, strong industrial demand and ambitious national targets," said Marko Virkebau, CEO of Stargate Hydrogen. "Petri brings an exceptional understanding of the Finnish energy sector together with extensive international experience. We welcome him to the Stargate Hydrogen team and look forward to the next chapter of our growth in Finland."
Sarnes will lead Stargate Hydrogen's business and all related commercial activities in Finland, supporting customers throughout the development and deployment of green hydrogen projects while strengthening collaboration with the country's growing hydrogen ecosystem.
"I'm eager to contribute to Stargate Hydrogen at such an important moment for both the company and the Finnish hydrogen market," said Petri Sarnes, Stargate’s Finnish Country Director. "Finland has the expertise, industrial base and renewable energy resources to become a leading producer of green hydrogen in Europe and Stargate Hydrogen is ready to deliver an innovative electrolyser technology that improves efficiency and competitiveness.”
Finland's hydrogen ambitions continue to gain momentum. National initiatives are expected to generate tens of billions of euros in economic activity over the coming decades, while major infrastructure projects are laying out the foundation for a regional hydrogen economy.