Dutch natural gas grid operator Gasunie plans to start work in the autumn on a €1.5bn ($1.8bn) national hydrogen pipeline network after the government this week formally asked it to go ahead.

The Dutch network should be in place by 2027 and will consist of 85pc repurposed natural gas lines, supplemented by new ones specifically built for hydrogen. The network will have a capacity of 10GW, equal to 25pc of the total energy consumption of Dutch industry, Gasunie says.

"This decision is a milestone in the context of the energy transition. We are therefore happy to make our contribution to the further development of hydrogen in the Netherlands,” says Gasunie CEO Han Fennema. “This is good for our country's leading position in this field. In fact, the Netherlands will be the first country to make the existing natural gas network suitable for hydrogen,” he says.

"This will make the Netherlands the gateway to Europe for the global hydrogen market" Fennema, Gasunie

Confirmation of the hydrogen network project strengthens the Netherlands’ case to become a major European hydrogen hub. Gasunie is also jointly funding a project to establish a hydrogen trading and balancing exchange together with the port authorities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groningen and North Sea Port, potentially replicating the success of the highly liquid Dutch natural gas trading market.

The first parts of the hydrogen pipeline network are expected to be developed in emerging local hydrogen hubs including Rotterdam and Groningen, which also reflect the expected reliance on imports to meet European demand.

"The interconnected national infrastructure will link our ports and industrial clusters not only with each other and with hydrogen storage locations, but also with our neighbouring countries. This will make the Netherlands the gateway to Europe for the global hydrogen market," says Fennema.

Gasunie is a member of the European Hydrogen Backbone (EHB), a group of 23 European natural gas grid operators lobbying for extensive use of existing pipelines to transport hydrogen across the continent. The EHB puts the cost of developing a Europe-wide hydrogen network by 2040 at €43-81bn, with repurposed gas lines accounting for 69pc of the capacity.

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Author: Stuart Penson