Since Tuesday 27 November, hydrogen has been flowing through a 12-kilometre long old main gas pipeline from Dow Benelux in Terneuzen to fertiliser producer Yara in Sluiskil. This gives Zeeuws-Vlaanderen a first.
The production of ethylene in Terneuzen releases hydrogen that Yara can put to good use in the production of fertiliser. Last summer, the connections at Dow and Yara were made and the Gasunie gas transport pipeline was modified at a few points. More than four kilotonnes of hydrogen per year will now pass through it. The pipeline will provide savings comparable to the gas consumption of 3,000 households. Moreover, it is a safe way to transport the explosive hydrogen. The project is part of the 'Smart Delta Resources' platform. This includes Zeeland's development company Impuls, the port company North Sea Port and the provinces of Zeeland and East Flanders.
First step towards national network
According to Gasunie chief Han Fennema, pipelines will increasingly transport other energy carriers in the future, such as hydrogen and green gas. By 2030, Gasunie says there are enough pipelines suitable to speak of a main structure for transporting hydrogen. Last week, The Hydrogen Coalition, a group of 27 environmental organisations, knowledge institutions, governments and companies including Gasunie, submitted a proposal for the development of hydrogen energy to the negotiators of the Climate Agreement. The coalition wants three to four gigawatts of hydrogen production capacity by 2030. Four gigawatts is enough to power four million households. The hydrogen should be made via large electrolysers of 100 megawatts or more. These then make hydrogen using renewable energy. Therefore, they must also be located on the coast, where green electricity from the North Sea wind comes ashore.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2261104-zeeuwse-gasleiding-wordt-waterstofleiding-eerste-stap-naar-landelijk-netwerk.html
