Hydrogen is currently considered an important alternative to fossil fuel energy because of the several possible uses in different industries such as mobility and heating in the private sector. Hydrogen can be a viable substitute to oil, coal and natural gas, without releasing CO2.
Ahead of the upcoming COP26 conference this November, the topic of hydrogen, especially green hydrogen, is becoming more and more talked about. Especially in the Netherlands, following a court ruling in December 2019, which mandated that the government must cut its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25% by the end of 2020.
However, green hydrogen is not actually sustainable, as it is obtained from fossil fuels with a large amount of CO2. At the moment, its production in the Netherlands results in 13 megatons annually, according to the government. Green hydrogen is produced in a sustainable way, based on renewable sources such as wind or solar energy, which is crucial to a ‘green’ energy transition. But, its production is also more expensive than grey hydrogen and requires a larger amount of electricity.
According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest Global Hydrogen Report 2021, the current hydrogen strategy is not ambitious or sustainable enough. Experts gathered to discuss how to put this into action at the recent World Hydrogen Congress in Amsterdam.
Some large, off-shore wind parks in the North Sea and several other hydrogen projects have been launched in previous years in order to take advantage of natural resources in the Netherlands such as wind and water energy.
Alderman Victor Everhardt of Economic Affairs for the City of Amsterdam announced the launch of the Hydrogen Hub at the congress. The hub will be an Amsterdam North Sea Canal Area where major companies are joining forces to accelerate the hydrogen energy transition.
“It is our initiative to create a hydrogen hub in this region, in cooperation with industrial and governmental parties. Previously, there have already been a lot of individual initiatives, but what we have done now is to connect them to create an ecosystem,” says Ingrid Post, Director Energy Transition North Sea Canal Area.
Vattenfall is currently a key player in the Dutch hydrogen industry, building the largest wind park in the world in the North Sea. “We want to produce hydrogen in a clean way and that’s only possible when there is enough wind electricity available,” says Ruud Stevens, Hydrogen Project Manager of Vattenfall. “The green hydrogen energy that Vattenfall is producing is intended to be used for industry or heavy road trucks to facilitate their decarbonisation,” Stevens told Euronews Green.
