Hydrogen and industry

Hydrogen Network Netherlands will be developed in phases that take supply and demand into account. At first, major industrial users (mainly located in the 5 large industrial clusters) will be connected to the network. To develop the network, it is important to get as complete a picture as possible of the potential users (producers & customers). Hynetwork is happy to discuss this further with you. Read more at the website of Hynetwork or contact us. 

Hynetwork (a wholly owned subsidiary of Gasunie) is designing, developing and maintaining Hydrogen Network Netherlands. Connecting to Hydrogen Network Netherlands is a customised process. Want to know more about a connection? Then fill in the contact form.

We expect that the Netherlands will eventually be unable to produce enough hydrogen locally to meet domestic demand. This is based in part on a study by research firms Berenschot and Kalavasta, who designed four climate-neutral energy scenarios for the Netherlands in 2050. The basic assumption is that energy supply and demand should be aligned at all times. This not only includes gas and electricity, but also energy carriers like heat, hydrogen, green gas and CO₂.

Four future scenarios were outlined based on that study and expressed as ‘four corners that mark out the playing field’. This makes it possible to assess what is needed in terms of flexibility and infrastructure. The level of imports will vary depending on the energy scenario. Gasunie is investing in import infrastructure in port regions for this reason. Read more about hydrogen imports.

The website of the National Hydrogen Programme has an overview of subsidy opportunities for hydrogen. 

A well-functioning market cannot exist without effective storage. Supply and demand are usually out of sync, making short- or long-term storage necessary. This also applies to hydrogen. Its production depends on the availability of solar and wind energy. Storage of large quantities of hydrogen thus ensures continuous availability of this energy carrier. In this way, industry can always have sustainable hydrogen available, and hydrogen-fuelled power plants can sustainably produce electricity when there is a shortage of solar and wind energy.

Together with our partners, we want to develop an open-access import infrastructure with all associated services (such as storage/transhipment, cracking, feeding into the grid). This role is similar to Gasunie’s role in LNG imports. Gasunie will never be active in the purchase/sale or production of hydrogen and hydrogen carriers.

The market will determine which forms of hydrogen import we should facilitate. At the same time, we also want to be a driver of the energy transition and play a pioneering role in it. Thus, it is important that we support and facilitate several promising alternatives (liquid H₂, compressed H₂, ammonia, and LOHC). We also want to develop import facilities for all these variants. 

Giving Gasunie the public task of establishing an offshore hydrogen network safeguards public interests such as the reliability, affordability and safety of vital infrastructure (in this case, hydrogen transport in the North Sea).

• Creating this on an open accessible network will allow all developers who wish to do so to connect at transparent rates and conditions.
• It is possible to plan the offshore network comprehensively and logically around government-designated offshore wind and hydrogen farms.
• Pre-investing in a network gives developers certainty that their hydrogen produced at sea will be transported to land.
• Since Gasunie is also the onshore hydrogen network operator, the landfall to and connection with the onshore network is simplified. Gasunie can coordinate plans from a single public network company.

Yes, the CO₂ Monitor provides current data about the electricity and gas mix in the Netherlands every hour, including an estimate of the CO₂ emissions and emission factor of both energy carriers. This website was developed by Gasunie and TenneT and is operated by NetAnders. Having this real-time overview of the hourly CO₂ emissions from electricity and gas gives you the opportunity to take immediate action: you can decide for yourself which hours you will consume energy and you may be able to alternate between energy carriers to emit as little CO₂ as possible. NetAnders continues to work on functionality that can predict CO₂ emissions for the CO₂ Monitor. Read more on the website of NetAnders.

Gasunie is committed to developing infrastructure for sustainable energy carriers, such as hydrogen, to achieve our climate ambitions. According to the IPCC (full report available here), hydrogen in itself is not a greenhouse gas. Hydrogen does not directly lead to global warming, but it delays the breakdown of methane in the atmosphere. After carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane is the main greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. There is currently little research investigating the impact of hydrogen on climate change.Gasunie wants to make the greatest possible contribution to achieving our climate ambitions, and we do not want to contribute to the problem, even where the impact is indirect. Gasunie is taking action by making early changes in the design and development of the hydrogen network to minimise hydrogen emissions.