Dutch gas network operator Gasunie has begun construction of the Netherlands’ domestic hydrogen network that will span some 1,200km of largely existing gas pipelines converted to carrying hydrogen from 2030 and also connect to Germany and Belgium.

In late October Dutch King Willem Alexander helped kick off construction work on the 30-km long pipeline connection between Rotterdam’s Tweede Maasvlakte, where Shell is developing its 200MW Holland Hydrogen 1 electrolyser, and the oil major’s Pernis refinery. The pipeline will form the first part of the Dutch domestic hydrogen network and is scheduled for completion in 2025. Gasunie had given the green light for the €100m ($105.86m) project in June 2023.

Although the first leg of the pipeline will help bring green hydrogen to Shell’s refinery which will replace some of the grey hydrogen used for petrol, diesel and jet fuel production, the infrastructure is available to all parties, Gasunie said.

“We offer an open access infrastructure. This means that market players can access our infrastructure on the same equal terms,” The firm added.

Expansion

Gasunie’s hydrogen grid subsidiary HyNetwork Services aims to expand the infrastructure across the Dutch coastal industrial clusters. This will include building pipelines connecting the northern Eemshaven and Delfzijl industrial regions and constructing the country’s first subsurface hydrogen storage facility at Groningen’s Zuidwending. In an oversubscribed open season this summer, the HyStock storage site received capacity reservations for 216GWh worth of hydrogen storage space. The first cavern is expected to start operating in 2028, with another three following after 2030.

This construction phase will also include the first border connections with Germany and Belgium, enabling one of the key elements of the Dutch hydrogen backbone of acting as a European exporting hub.

“By being the first European country to have its hydrogen infrastructure in place, the Netherlands can be an important hub for sustainable energy” Gasunie

Following this phase, Gasunie will connect all of the different Dutch clusters and industrial zones, including the huge Chemelot industrial site, before plugging into the German networks managed by gas  grid operators Thyssengas and OGE.

After 2030, Gasunie envisages the development of an offshore hydrogen network in the North Sea that will connect to the existing onshore grid.

“By being the first European country to have its hydrogen infrastructure in place, the Netherlands can be an important hub for sustainable energy,” Gasunie said. Conversion from gas to hydrogen pipelines includes replacing valves and measurement equipment, and thorough pipeline cleaning. By welding flanges in place and capturing any hydrogen released, Gasunie aims to install an emission-free hydrogen pipeline design. “The climate gain in the transition from natural gas to hydrogen is huge, as much as 96–99%,” The firm said.

As part of its ambition to become a European hydrogen hub, the Netherlands aims to have an installed electrolyser capacity of 4GW by 2030 and wants to double it to 8GW just two years later.

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Author: Karolin Schaps