A consortium of Gasunie, Groningen Seaports and Shell Nederland have announced that they intend to launch the NortH2 project: the production of green hydrogen using renewable electricity generated by a 3-4GW offshore wind farm in 2030. Additionally, it has the ambition to grow to about 10GW around 2040.
Green hydrogen production, initially in the Eemshaven (the Netherlands) and later possibly also offshore, is expected to be around 800,000 tonnes per year by 2040. NortH2 has the support of the province of Groningen and is looking for partners to expand the consortium and realise this project.
A smart transport network in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe is required to deliver the 800,000 tonnes of green hydrogen to mainly industry, and later possibly also to consumers. In this project, Gasunie’s natural gas infrastructure – which is now mainly used for natural gas and green gas – is also used for the storage and transport of hydrogen.
The project is expected to start this year with the kick-off of a feasibility study. If the outcome is successful, the consortium hopes to produce the first hydrogen by 2027. This depends, among other things, on permits from governments, the assignment of new wind farm locations in the North Sea, the available locations for the hydrogen facility/facilities and the final investment decisions of the parties concerned. NortH2's partners anticipate that the initial project phases may potentially require European and national subsidies available for the decarbonisation of energy.