By Bram Albers and Maarten de Vries

The Netherlands has everything required to become a hydrogen hub: it has infrastructure e.g. pipelines and port infrastructure that it can repurpose, and ample potential for hydrogen storage; it is already home to many initiatives in renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production and consumption; and – crucially – it can leverage its experience as a successful hub for natural gas. These are considerable strengths that make the Netherlands well-positioned to become a hydrogen hub.

Reusable infrastructure

The Netherlands is not starting from scratch. All the ports and facilities currently used by fossil energy can, over time, be made available for green alternatives. This will be a gradual process that could already start with the phase-out of coal. Even now, it is possible to use the existing ammonia terminals at the Port of Rotterdam (~500 kton per year) and Terneuzen for green ammonia imports.

Storage capacity

The Netherlands also has sizeable potential hydrogen storage capacity. Most energy scenarios predict that large-scale storage will be needed, and one of the most cost-effective options is to use salt caverns. The Netherlands, Germany and to a smaller extent Denmark and the UK have significant numbers of salt structures both onshore and offshore.

Domestic production and consumption

The Netherlands not only has infrastructure with which to begin transport and storage, it also has hydrogen demand and producers that can be connected. In response to the EU Fit-for-55 package, the RePowerEU package and regional targets, multiple large-scale domestic consumption projects have been announced. For example, for fertilizer and methanol production, decarbonizing steel production and (starting) to replace aviation and transportation fuel.

Facilitation by the government is needed

If experience has taught the Netherlands what it takes to become an energy hub, it must now put these lessons into practice to become a hydrogen hub.

Specifically, it must:

• Ensure timely availability of large-scale infrastructure
• Facilitate local production and consumption, while attracting global supply
• Set up a digital trading platform and a flat tariff system for infrastructure

Market parties are unlikely to take up the gauntlet, as buying green hydrogen at current costs and selling that to consumers at prices they are able to pay will be loss-making for some time (and no one can say for how long). The government must break the chicken and egg deadlock between production and consumption.