The Netherlands is planning the first large-scale offshore hydrogen production in the North of the Wadden Islands wind energy area. The wind farm has approximately 500MW of electrolysis capacity and should be operational around 2031.
The area was chosen because a wind farm was already planned here for the production of electricity, an existing natural gas pipeline can possibly be reused for transport to land and it can be properly connected to the onshore hydrogen network. The project will be the first project that connects to Gasunie's offshore hydrogen transport network. This network will bring large quantities of hydrogen ashore and will be connected to the onshore hydrogen network. This year, details of what the offshore hydrogen network should look like will be worked out. The extent to which reuse of existing gas infrastructure in the North Sea is feasible will also be examined.
As a stepping stone to this project, work is also underway on a smaller pilot with an electrolysis capacity of approximately 50-100MW. This should remove the first defects from the technology so that the project of 500MW can be realised efficiently. Later this year, the the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate also wants to choose a preferred location for this smaller project.