The Dutch national hydrogen network, a project being developed by Hynetwork Services (a subsidiary of Gasunie), has started the construction of its first section. The 30 km stretch plans to connect the Tweede Maasvlakte industrial park to the submunicipality of Pernis in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The project is expected to become operational by 2025, connecting the Netherland’s major industrial areas to each other, to hydrogen storage facilities and international supply lines in Germany and Belgium.
The 1,200 km network consists largely of repurposed existing natural gas pipelines and plans to use zero-emission equipment for the construction, with Gasunie solutions like HyTap technology to safely connect end users to the hydrogen pipelines, counting for an investment of approximately €1.5bn (US$1.6bn).
The Netherlands’ Climate Fund plans to allocate €9bn for the development of hydrogen, out of a total fund of €35bn dedicated to funding the energy transition. Of this budget, €300m will be reserved for stimulating imports of green hydrogen, while options to subsidise industrial users for the transition to hydrogen and the use of it are being explored.