From 2030 onwards, the Rotterdam hydrogen network, which will cost some 1.5 billion euros, will connect the major industrial regions in the Netherlands and surrounding countries such as Germany and Belgium.
The network will also soon have connections to import terminals in the seaports, Dutch hydrogen production and large-scale hydrogen storage facilities. Gasunie has made the investment decision for the first part of a nationwide hydrogen network. This first section will be from the Second Maasvlakte to Pernis. Work will start after the summer in the port of Rotterdam.
The first part of the hydrogen network in Rotterdam will extend from the Second Maasvlakte to Pernis. That is a section of more than thirty kilometres that is expected to be operational by 2025. The national network will ultimately be 1,200 kilometres long and 85% of it will consist of existing natural gas pipelines.
We will maintain our position as an important energy port in the future. On the basis of that role, we can deliver a significant boost for the green hydrogen economy in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe.
… said Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority
In a recent, exclusive interview to SAFETY4SEA, Allard Castelein had mentioned that the Port Authority is getting broad-based coalitions involved in the development of ‘Green Corridors’ in order to establish a carbon-neutral transport chain on specific routes in partnership with other ports and actors from the entire chain.
To remind, in early May, The Port of Rotterdam together with the Province of Zuid Holland and more than 40 partners launched a project for emission-free inland and near-shore shipping on hydrogen. Furthermore, Port of Rotterdam has recently signed hydrogen deals with Port of Newcastle and Port of Pecém.
The investment announced by Gasunie for the first part will be more than 100 million euros. Gasunie’s subsidiary, Hynetwork Services, will be responsible for development. Gasunie manages and maintains the infrastructure for the transport and storage of gas, which is increasingly shifting to green gas and hydrogen in the context of the energy transition.
