A large factory for green hydrogen at sea will be built for the first time in the Netherlands. This factory will be built next to a wind farm in the north of the Wadden Islands and is expected to be operational in 2031. This is what Jetten, the Minister for climate and energy, decided to do in the fight against climate change: No CO2 is released during the production of green hydrogen.
It was previously announced that two wind farms will be built above the Wadden Sea region in the North Sea. One continues to provide electricity, the other generates electricity for hydrogen production.
“We are the world leader with this plan,” Jetten says. How do experts see this step towards a possible hydrogen economy?
Plans for a hydrogen factory at sea have long been on the drawing board in The Hague and are now being stepped up. The minister is doing this because he thinks it is more clear that hydrogen is essential for, among other things, the sustainability of industry and heavy transport. Also, according to Jetten, the energy crisis has demonstrated the need for self-sufficiency.
Jetten says he is pleased with the support of the local Groningen administration – the factory will be built in their home state. According to experts, the plan will also help the state of Groningen: sustainability will be accelerated and our dependence on gas will be reduced.
According to René Kleijn, professor of future-proof raw materials procurement at Leiden University, other factors also play a role: “Europe has lost the war against China, Korea and Japan for batteries and solar panels. We can still be leaders with hydrogen.”
free energy
Especially when a lot of wind and solar energy is generated, Kleijn sees many advantages of green hydrogen: “If there is a lot of sun and wind in the future, we won’t be able to use everything all the time, so there may be times when Electricity is free. IT.”
Kleijn thinks it would be a good idea to place the factory next to a wind farm. Because electricity is diverted to the factory next door, there are far fewer power cords to the mainland. In addition, some of the old gas infrastructure lines can also be used to transport hydrogen.
Benjamin Sprecher of TU Delft sees the advantages of balancing the electrical grid. “Theoretically you could also store energy with batteries, but on a large scale it’s easier to do it with hydrogen.”
Tata Steel
While green hydrogen can play an important role in sustainability, especially for the industry – Tata Steel, for example, wants to produce steel with green hydrogen in the future – there are reservations.
“You want the entire energy system to be as efficient as possible, and a lot of energy is lost with hydrogen,” says Kleijn. “Hydrogen is not an energy source, but an energy carrier. In other words, you convert wind energy to hydrogen and then this hydrogen to electricity. You lose 20 percent of your energy twice. If you use electricity directly, much less.” ”
very rare metal
One more thing: Roughly speaking, there are two ways to produce hydrogen. Kleijn: “Right now this is mainly happening with nickel or very rare iridium. If we want to scale with hydrogen, we can’t do it with iridium. Really other, less rare metals should be chosen.”
According to the speaker, some caution is needed as hydrogen production is almost nonexistent. “We already believe this is the future, although there is still a lot of uncertainty.”
Sprecher fears that too many people think they’re already rich. “But if all industries start using hydrogen, you’re going to have huge capacity problems. Green hydrogen is still in its infancy.”
Source: NOS
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
