Energy transition
Energy transition
Gasunie is clearing the way for the transition society is making to a carbon-neutral energy system. We are installing the infrastructure for hydrogen, CO2, heat and biomethane.
Hydrogen
Gasunie is the envisioned TSO for the future hydrogen network in the North Sea. This was announced in June by the then outgoing Minister of Climate and Energy Policy Rob Jetten in a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives. This hydrogen network will help achieve the climate goals and secure energy independence, and it will improve the Netherlands’ competitive position. With the further growth of offshore wind from 2030, onshore as well as offshore hydrogen production is becoming essential. From 2030 onwards, it will become increasingly challenging to transmit all the wind power generated offshore to land in the form of electricity. That is where hydrogen comes in as a great alternative, given that it can be transported cost-efficiently over pipelines and the fact that this hydrogen is then relatively easy to store. It is now up to the new Dutch government to make a decision on the construction and financing of an offshore hydrogen network.
In May, four companies in the North Sea Canal area that want to produce or use hydrogen took an important next step to connect to Gasunie’s future hydrogen network. Vattenfall, Sunoco, HyCC and Tata Steel signed a Connection Study Agreement (CSA) with Gasunie subsidiary Hynetwork in preparation for the connections. This interest comes at a time when the contours of the hydrogen network in the North Sea Canal area, as part of the Dutch national hydrogen network, are starting to take shape.
In June, Minister Rob Jetten updated the Dutch House of Representatives on the schedule for the Delta Rhine Corridor (DRC) project. The Minister has decided that the development of this pipeline network must proceed at the same pace for all forms of energy, which means a significant delay in the timeline for the completion of the hydrogen and CO2 connection. We are disappointed with this development. From the start, we have emphasised the importance of having the hydrogen and CO2 connection completed as soon as possible, given that the sustainability agendas of many of our customers depend on this and that this is also necessary to remain on track to achieve the climate targets we have jointly committed ourselves to. We are now analysing the consequences of this decision and considering how this will impact the network development plan. As it now stands, the DRC connection will not be ready before 2032. We will see if there are faster alternatives and hope to have clarity on the matter by the autumn.
CO₂
After a period of preparations, it can clearly be seen that the actual construction of the infrastructure for the Porthos CO2 transmission and storage project has started. In April a borehole was drilled under the seawall at the Maasvlakte industrial park, ready to receive 600 metres of casing pipeline through which a core pipeline for the transport of CO2 will be pushed in 2025. The CO2 will come from industrial parties in the port area to the compressor station at the Maasvlakte industrial area, from where it will be transported by pipeline to the offshore platform, approximately 20km off the coast. There it will be stored, permanently, 3 to 4km below the seabed of the North Sea. Work on the CO2 pipeline will also be carried out at other locations around the Port of Rotterdam in the near future. Through this underground pipeline system the captured CO2 will be transported from the companies to the compressor station. Porthos is set to be commissioned in 2026. The compressor station and the onshore transport system provide space for future CCS projects.
In June CO2next, the open-access terminal project for temporary storage and handling of liquid CO2 in the Maasvlakte area in Rotterdam, entered the FEED phase. Shell and TotalEnergies have joined this collaboration, which was fronted by Gasunie and Vopak up to this point. Following the final investment decision and assuming that the relevant permits will be obtained, the CO2next terminal can start receiving liquid CO2 supplied by ship in 2028. CO2next will be connected to depleted gas fields in the North Sea through the yet-to-be-completed Aramis pipeline.
Heat
On 12 June, the Zuid-Holland Provincial Executive gave the WarmtelinQ heat supply pipeline running between Rijswijk and Leiden the green light. After an intensive planning process, the provincial zoning amendment plan and the EIA report were drawn up. This decision is a key milestone for the project and it is now expected that we can start transmitting heat through the pipeline in 2027.