The Netherlands – RWE and Neptune Energy have signed a Joint Development Agreement for “H2opzee” to be developed before 2030.
There are plans to build an electrolyzer capacity of between 300 and 500 megawatts (MW) far out in the Dutch North Sea so that green hydrogen can be produced from offshore wind. After that, a currently-existing pipeline will be used to transport the hydrogen to the land.
The pipeline has a capacity of 10 to 12 gigawatts (GW), which means it is already suitable for the expansion of green hydrogen production in the North Sea to gigawatt scale. The feasibility study is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022.
Hydrogen bandwagon
TKI Wind op Zee, a Dutch government-backed initiative, is behind the project, which aims to bring together people, knowledge, and funding to make the offshore energy transition a reality.
There are two phases to H2opZee. The first step will be to conduct a feasibility study and create an online knowledge base that anyone can access. The goal of this is to get the Netherlands on the hydrogen bandwagon. The project will be put into action in the second phase. Tendering procedures have not yet been established for this stage.
