The Dutch government, through Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN), is stepping in as an active partner in the world’s first project that aims to produce green hydrogen on an operational gas platform in the North Sea.
The PosHYdon project will integrate three energy systems in the North Sea - including offshore wind, offshore gas and offshore hydrogen - and will take place on Neptune Energy’s Q13a-A platform.
The production platform is the first fully green electrified platform in the Dutch North Sea and is located approximately 13 kilometres off the coast of Scheveningen.
The pilot is essential for the development of large-scale production of green hydrogen at sea and thus for the energy transition in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe.
In order to safeguard this public interest, EBN will actively participate in the consortium. EBN is already a 40% partner in the Q13a-A platform, where the pilot will take place.
According to developers, PosHYdon is now approaching the final phase - the setup will be tested on land at InVesta in May 2024, and the first production of hydrogen on the platform operated by Neptune Energy is scheduled for the second half of 2024.
Michel Heijdra, Director-General for Climate and Energy at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, said: “We are on the eve of the large-scale development of the North Sea as an engine for the energy transition. Electrolysis at sea will play an important role in this.
“In PosHYdon, the first steps are being taken to achieve this. That is why the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy sees this as an essential project. EBN’s participation in the consortium guarantees a sufficiently large size of the project and ensures that the lessons learned are taken into account in the future.”
Jan Willem van Hoogstraten, CEO of Energie Beheer Nederland, added: “PosHYdon plays a key role in the realisation of the green hydrogen economy. An ambitious, but also challenging project with an undeniable public interest. EBN feels a great responsibility to help ensure the success of PosHYdon. For the energy transition in the Netherlands and in Northwest Europe.”
The green hydrogen will be blended with the gas and transported to the coast via the existing gas pipeline. To this end, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy has increased the blending specifications from 0.02% to 0.5% hydrogen. The 1MW electrolyzer will follow the wind profile of the Luchterduinen wind farm.
The PosHYdon consortium consists of Nel Hydrogen, InVesta, Hatenboer, Iv-Offshore & Energy, Emerson, Nexstep, TNO, Neptune Energy, Gasunie, Noordgastransport, NOGAT, DEME, TAQA, Eneco and EBN.
Subscribe
