Dutch Clean Hydrogen Strategy An overview of possibilities for international clean hydrogen cooperation Photo by Hans Reniers

develop and there are major dependencies between them. Summary For companies that are considering becoming more sustain- able through zero-carbon hydrogen as an energy carrier, it The Netherlands government’s climate policy agenda in- will be vital to have an estimate of future volumes and prices cludes the vision of the need for a clean hydrogen supply for hydrogen. In addition, the company operating the net- chain, and the first steps to be taken for its realization. The work and the level of the transport tariffs, for example, will government has developed a perspective on what a zero- also be relevant. Potential investors in production capacity carbon hydrogen supply chain should look like based on vari- need insight into demand trends. The development and di- ous scenarios. The government is actively looking for interna- mensioning of the infrastructure network are again linked to tional research and business cooperation in this area. the expected supply and demand. Both the development of demand, supply, storage and infrastructure are significantly Hydrogen has the potential to become a globally traded com- influenced by government policy. modity with large-scale imports and exports. Production in the Netherlands can take place with the use of large electro- In the forthcoming first phase of development, it is crucial lysers or production plants with Carbon Capture and Storage that the costs of clean hydrogen production should be re- (CCS) in the coastal regions. Smaller-scale production sites duced. The upscaling of production plants for that purpose may also be set up. Countries with cheap solar energy will would be a key way to do so. The plans of companies show focus on the export of hydrogen and the Netherlands will be that these initial, at present relatively small-scale, plants are able to continue to act as an energy hub in the future due to to be realized in the industrial clusters in which there is cur- its favorable location, its ports and its extensive gas grid and rently already a demand for hydrogen. In a later phase of de- velopment, it is likely that a transport network will have Netherlands Strategy added value. In the long term, (seasonal) storage will also be needed in salt caverns or empty gas fields. Preparations for The principal challenge for the Netherlands is to set up a the potential realization of infrastructure and storage capac- clean hydrogen supply chain. This is a complex issue. De- ity should, however, already be made in view of the lead mand, supply, storage and infrastructure will all have to times.

How to get to green Transport In order to support the targets set out in the National Climate hydrogen? Agreement (50 refueling stations, 15,000 fuel cell vehicles and Green hydrogen is produced via electrolysis using (renewable) 3,000 heavy-duty vehicles by 2025; 300,000 fuel cell vehicles electricity. At present, this is far more expensive than grey by 2030), a cooperation agreement with stakeholders will be hydrogen and blue hydrogen is also expected to remain signed in 2020. Agreements with the sectors for transporta- cheaper in the short term. Various national and international tion of specific groups (e.g. disabled), waste collection vehi- studies, however, have shown that significant cost savings of cles, zero emissions urban logistics and a strategy for long- around 50-60% can be achieved in the next ten years. In or- distance transport for hinterland connections should provide der to achieve such a reduction of cost, a major scaling up of further support for the roll-out of hydrogen. The national green hydrogen production is required in an international government and local and regional authorities will act as context, increasing from several MW to the GW scale by 2030. launching customers. The further roll-out of refueling sta- This will allow a more industrialized production method and tions will be encouraged.

unlock economies of scale. In addition, innovation may also lead to higher electrolysis efficiency and therefore lower Built environment costs. It is primarily the use of cheaper materials (for elec- Zero-carbon hydrogen also has the potential to make a sig- trodes and membranes) that is crucial in that regard and still nificant contribution to the heating of the built environment requires a great deal of research. The National Climate Agree- in the longer term. TNO recently outlined how this can take ment includes an ambition to scale up electrolysis to approxi- place. The conclusion of this study is that, although the po- mately 500 MW of installed capacity by 2025 and 3-4 GW of tential is there, there are still important questions to be an- installed capacity by 2030. Although the additional costs of swered regarding applicability, safety, availability, sustain- green hydrogen are expected to fall with the scaling-up proc- ability and affordability.

ess, at present we still expect to see a significant operating cost gap. Therefore financial support schemes aimed at the Electricity sector various phases of the development process will be offered by The use of clean hydrogen in gas plants offers the opportu- the government. nity to sustainably realize flexible power capacity. The Mag- num project in the Eemshaven seaport, which is reviewing whether one of the gas turbines can be switched to hydrogen, is a good example of this. If the supply of zero-carbon hydro- What sectors to focus on? gen can be scaled up in time, this would offer prospects to For various forms of final consumption, zero-carbon hydro- achieve CO2 reductions in the electricity sector in the long gen is one of the options that can lead to sustainability im- term. In order to accelerate the development of green hydro- provements. The development of production and demand for gen, the government will be carrying out a study before the this type of hydrogen should ideally progress more or less in summer of 2020 into the advantages and disadvantages of tandem. linking hydrogen production to offshore wind energy via inte- grated tenders. This is particularly important in respect of the Ports & industry clusters issue of how hydrogen production should be used to achieve All industrial clusters have indicated that they consider the CO2 reductions before 2030. In case of offshore conversion of development of the hydrogen infrastructure to be a key pre- electricity to hydrogen, the costs of landing renewable energy requisite for further sustainability improvements. The ports and congestion on the electricity grid can potentially be re- and industry clusters regard the development of clean hydro- duced. In an international context, the Netherlands will pro- gen as an essential part of achieving a climate-neutral indus- mote exploring offshore hydrogen cooperation, among oth- try sector by 2050. Until 2030, sustainability projects will be ers as part of the North Sea Energy Cooperation program. predominantly local in nature. Within all regional and indus- trial clusters, markets and other parties are preparing for a growing role played by hydrogen, including through studies, Innovation the development of business cases and proposed invest- The government hydrogen strategy represents a wide range ments. Many of the concrete plans within the clusters relate of possibilities and technologies. In all of these areas, compa- to pilot-demo projects. The Porthos project in Rotterdam de- nies and knowledge institutes are working on basic and ap- serves particular attention. The project focuses on the capture plied research and innovations aimed at making processes of CO2 from the existing hydrogen production within the and applications more efficient, more sustainable, and port, thereby making blue hydrogen. This paves the way for cheaper. Work is ongoing with regard to a wide range of as- large-scale integration of green hydrogen in the longer term. pects within the hydrogen value chain, both at Dutch univer- sities and research institutes supported by various Dutch search Council (NWO) programs.

In addition to basic research, Research Council (NWO) pro- source for the production of green hydrogen beyond grams. In addition to basic research, the government also 2030. focuses on applied research, which is aimed at working to- 3. Bilateral cooperation with neighboring states. A feasibil- wards realizing new and improved technologies and applica- ity study was recently launched with the German govern- tions in collaboration with the business community. The ment to review how Dutch and German offshore wind Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research energy could benefit the scaling up of green hydrogen (TNO) plays an active role in this regard. Activities conducted production, which would then become available to Dutch through Energy Top Sector, as part of the various multi-year and German industry (HY3 project) through Dutch gas mission-driven innovation programs (MMIPs) inter alia aimed pipelines. at the electricity and industry sectors, focus on innovations in 4. IPCEI (Important Projects of Common European Interest) the field of the production and application of green hydrogen. is a European instrument for the rolling out of projects. European programs, such as in the context of Horizon 2020 The Netherlands will be focusing on a strong role for (Fuel Cell Hydrogen Joint Undertaking), are likewise of great green hydrogen in Europe’s competitive position in re- importance to Dutch companies and knowledge institutions. spect of other parts of the world.

In addition, the NL is an active participant in international International Cooperation initiatives such as the International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE), IEA, Clean Energy Minis- The principal focus in international cooperation is on Europe, terial and Mission Innovation. but the NL is also actively taking part in global partnership initiatives. The Netherlands' European strategy consists of the following tracks: 1. Direct contact with the European Commission. The key goal in this regard is to make clear to the Commission Collaboration with RF what the NL regards as desirable EU hydrogen policy. 2. Pentalateral Forum (Benelux, Germany, France, Austria Collaboration with Russian organizations is possible in any of and Switzerland) in which the NL alongside Austria has the directions mentioned above. To make it a little bit more taken the initiative to develop common approaches to concrete a map of hydrogen projects in the NL is included on critical issues such as standards, market incentives and the next page. In addition, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) market regulations ahead of the discussions in an EU started a new fund for Science Diplomacy. This fund aims to context. This platform recently published a political dec- organize exchanges between Dutch and Russian scientists. laration in which the ministers of these countries express One of the three focus areas for cooperation is energy transi- the will to cooperate extensively. tion. The event on energy transition and hydrogen will be or- 3. Consultations with North Sea countries. As the significant ganized in the spring of 2021 in Moscow by the Energy Delta potential of offshore wind energy will become a key Institute in cooperation with the university of Groningen. Where to find hydrogen projects in the Netherlands?