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Dutch government will produce green hydrogen at sea

March 20, 2023

Green hydrogen

The wind energy area will produce green hydrogen, reports central government. The choice of this area can be easily explained. The area was chosen because a wind farm was already planned here for the production of electricity, an existing natural gas pipeline could possibly be reused for transport to land and it could be well connected to the hydrogen network on land. Wind Energy Area North of the Wadden Islands is 30.2 nautical miles (56 km) above the north coast of the Netherlands.

Strong support for hydrogen

There is much support in the Groningen region for the arrival of this project. This project will be the first to use hydrogen production at sea on a large scale. In doing so, the state, companies involved and grid operators are gaining valuable experience with this new technology that will play a major role in the energy system of the future.

Netherlands leads the way

Minister Rob Jetten, commented as follows: “With this plan, we are leading the way worldwide. It is also a big step on top of the Climate Accord target of 4GW electrolysis by 2030. We have already designated the area as a preferred site so that preparations can begin quickly and we give clarity to the sector so that they can start making their investment plans. I am also very pleased with the support we are getting from local governments. The province and municipalities are fully committed to a green economy in which the production of renewable energy is central.”

Connecting wind farm to mainland

Before the tenders are issued, the ministry is working with the Groningen region, parties around the wadden region and stakeholders to carefully work out a number of important issues. Such as the landfall of the pipeline to bring hydrogen from the wind farm ashore and how hydrogen production can be done safely and ecologically.

Landing large quantities of green hydrogen

The project will be the first to connect to Gasunie’s offshore hydrogen transport network. This network will bring large amounts of green hydrogen ashore and will be connected to the onshore hydrogen network. This year we are working out what the offshore hydrogen network should look like. This includes examining the extent to which reuse of existing gas infrastructure in the North Sea is feasible.

Smaller pilot

As a stepping stone to this project, a smaller pilot with an electrolysis capacity of about 50-100MW is also underway. This should remove the first defects from the technology so that the 500MW project can be realized efficiently. Later this year, the minister plans to choose a preferred site for this smaller project as well.

From gray to green

Most of the hydrogen available today is gray hydrogen. Natural gas, a fossil fuel, was used to make this gray hydrogen. The goal is to produce hydrogen in a green way as soon as possible, such as with wind, hydroelectric or solar power. Wind farms were chosen for this project.