The duo today (Feb 15) unveiled the ambitious plans under the H2opZee project name, that hopes to kick-start the production and roll-out of hydrogen produced at sea in the Netherlands ahead of 2030.

Once produced, the hydrogen will then be transported via an existing pipeline which has a capacity of 10-12GW and is already suitable for green hydrogen, meaning there is no need to develop new infrastructure around the electrolyser site.

With plans to begin a feasibility study in the second quarter of this year for the electrolyser site, it is hoped the project will produce technology that could later be exported worldwide and utilised in similar projects.

Lex de Groot, Managing Director in the Netherlands for Neptune Energy, said, “We see an important role for green hydrogen in future energy supply, and it can be produced here in the North Sea. The energy transition can be faster, cheaper and cleaner if we integrate existing gas infrastructure into new systems.

“This infrastructure is technically suitable, no new pipeline at sea is needed and no new landfall is required through the coastal area. With the PosHYdon pilot we are one of the leaders in this field of offshore energy system integration and reuse. The lessons learned from this project apply to H2opZee.

“The faster we can scale up green hydrogen at sea, the faster industries such as chemicals and steel production can become more sustainable. With H2opZee, the Netherlands is becoming a world leader in this area. That is why we, together with RWE, are enthusiastic about H2opZee and what it has to offer the Netherlands.”

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Offshore Wind at RWE Renewables, added, “Hydrogen is a gamechanger in the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors and H2opZee is a world first of this kind and scale.

“With Neptune Energy at our side, we want to develop the H2opZee project to demonstrate how offshore wind can be an ideal partner for the production of green hydrogen at scale and to explore the best way in terms of system integration.

“We are convinced that learnings from the H2opZee demonstration project will help in ramping-up the hydrogen economy in the Netherlands as it presents an important step towards the roll-out of green hydrogen production offshore at large scale.”

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