The supply of and demand for green hydrogen will need to be built from the ground up, as will the transport connections between suppliers and consumers and storage facilities. A large number of parties are working on this together. Gasunie’s strategy to help develop the hydrogen supply chain is based on four pillars: Transport, Import, Storage and Offshore. 

Netherlands 

In 2021, the Dutch government commissioned Gasunie subsidiary Hynetwork Services to build, in three phases, a national hydrogen transmission network connecting the key industrial clusters.

• Phase 1 (2026): connecting the industrial clusters on the coast (Zeeland, Rotterdam-Moerdijk, the North Sea Canal area, and the northern region of the Netherlands). In the first phase, a connection with the Zuidwending storage facility and an initial connection with Belgium and Germany are also planned.
• Phase 2 (2028): connecting infrastructure completed in phase 1 with the Limburg industrial cluster. The connections with Belgium and Germany are to be expanded, partly because Germany is expected to need increasingly more imported hydrogen.
• Phase 3 (2030): connecting the western and eastern routes with a southern route that also links up with the Belgian hydrogen infrastructure at Sas van Gent and Dilsen. Connecting Den Helder to the existing routes.

With the help of this national infrastructure, the Netherlands will become the gateway to Europe for the global hydrogen market. We aim to make a final investment decision on phase 1 in 2024. The Dutch hydrogen network will stretch out over 1,183 kilometres and will consist for 85 to 90% of repurposed pipelines from GTS’ national natural gas grid. The national hydrogen network has now been included in the national coordination scheme, under which the Dutch government coordinates spatial planning and permitting procedures. Hynetwork Services has been transmitting hydrogen between Dow Chemical’s plant and the plant of fertiliser producer Yara, both located in the Zeelandic Flanders region, since 2017.

Gasunie also anticipates that Hynetwork Services will be designated as the hydrogen TSO in the Netherlands around 2025. From 2025 to 2030 there will be a transitional regime for access to the transmission network, during which time it will be up to Hynetwork Services and interested companies to mutually agree arrangements concerning access. After this period, regulator ACM will set the transmission tariffs that Hynetwork Services can charge and ensure that access be given to any party requesting such.

Germany

Gasunie is working on the HyPerLink project in the north of Germany, where GUD’s natural gas network is located. This hydrogen transmission network will stretch out over 663 kilometres and approximately 75% of it will comprise repurposed natural gas pipelines. HyPerLink may be eligible for an IPCEI grant of € 160 million. Gasunie hopes to take the investment decision for HyPerLink at the end of 2023. With a ‘go’ decision, the first part, including the connection to the Netherlands, can be ready in 2026. Our new entity Gasunie Energy Development GmbH is involved in the realisation.

In its final form, HyPerLink will connect ports in the northern part of Germany with the Ruhr, link up with the Dutch and Danish hydrogen networks, and become part of a German national hydrogen grid. The German government is considering forming a nationwide hydrogen TSO, but it is currently unclear how this relates to the gas TSOs that want to convert parts of their natural gas networks for the transmission of hydrogen.

To achieve the climate goals, a substantial part of the total demand for hydrogen in north-western Europe will have to be met through imports from other countries. Gasunie is investigating the possibilities of developing terminals in the Netherlands and Germany for hydrogen and hydrogen carriers.

Various international supply chains and technologies are being developed for the transport of hydrogen, including ammonia, liquid hydrogen and liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs). Gasunie expects ammonia to play an important role as a hydrogen carrier. After being combined with nitrogen to form ammonia, hydrogen can be transported more efficiently in larger volumes, stored and then converted back into hydrogen. Moreover, existing technologies and markets can be used, and sustainably produced ammonia can also be used directly, for example as a zero-carbon fuel in shipping or as a raw material in the production of fertiliser, for example.

In 2022, Gasunie, HES International (HES) and Vopak signed a collaboration agreement for the development of an import terminal for green ammonia at the Maasvlakte industrial area near Rotterdam. The parties aspire to have this ACE Terminal in operation from 2026.

Ships from all over the world can berth at the envisioned location to unload ammonia, which can then be converted here and transported onwards through the hydrogen network in the Netherlands and Germany to the end customers. Development can be accelerated by using existing infrastructure. Furthermore, the intended site is a prime location thanks to the space it affords for further expansion and growth.

Gasunie is also investigating possibilities for building terminals for hydrogen/hydrogen carriers in Eemshaven in the Netherlands and Brunsbüttel in Germany. 

To give the future Dutch hydrogen grid the desired stability, a large-scale central storage facility is needed. Gasunie subsidiary HyStock is studying the possibility of developing four salt caverns in Zuidwending for use in storing vast volumes of hydrogen. This would make it possible to store large amounts of energy in a safe, efficient and reliable manner. Demonstration tests carried out in 2022 showed promising results. 

HyStock will now take further steps towards the development of the first salt cavern, which can come into operation in 2026, provided the permits are ready in time. An application has been made to have the planned storage facility come under the national coordination scheme

In Germany, Gasunie is participating in the hydrogen storage pilot H2Cast; with this project we are already jostling for a position in the future German hydrogen storage market. 

In 2022, four North Sea countries signed the Esbjerg declaration, in which they stated that they would develop the North Sea as a ‘Green Power Plant of Europe’. In the declaration, they set the ambition to produce 65GW of offshore wind by 2030. Of this, 20GW is earmarked for the production of green hydrogen, a portion of which may also be produced offshore.

Various studies have been started at Gasunie to open the way for this offshore green hydrogen. Research into the offshore hydrogen network will provide a better understanding of the system requirements, the costs and the route(s) from the offshore hydrogen production sites to the landfall points where the hydrogen will be transferred to the national (onshore) hydrogen network. The Dutch Minister for Climate and Energy Policy intends to appoint Gasunie to develop and operate the offshore hydrogen network in the North Sea.

To enable large-scale rollout and integration of wind energy further offshore at the lowest social cost, Gasunie is also investigating the development of energy hubs. In this arrangement, wind farms are connected to centrally located offshore hubs, which are connected to each other and to North Sea countries via cables and/or pipelines.