The Netherlands – The Torrgas company, based in Amsterdam, will create green hydrogen in a factory in Delfzijl using scrap wood and grass on the side of the road. Torrgas estimates that the new plant will cost between 80 and 100 million euros.
Groningen Seaports has already ceremoniously plowed a shovel into the ground on a piece of land it has provided to Torrgas. However, Sytze Hellinga of the Northern Netherlands Investment and Development Agency, NOM, asserts that there are still many challenges to be addressed. NOM contributes some funding to the proposals’ first stages.
As the HyCarb project, as the building of the plant was named by Torrgas, enters the phase of applying for permits, Erwin Eijmans, director of Torrgas, is seeking management for the hydrogen plant. Additionally, the facility’s design is being created.
Torrgas anticipates realizing the Delfzijl production site in a few years. If all goes according to plan, HyCarb could hire 25 people, depending on the size of the factory.
Syngas to create hydrogen
Torrgas intends to use so-called syngas to create hydrogen in Delfzijl. This is produced by the roasting process known as torrefaction. Waste wood is heated in this situation without being burned. Syngas, which is composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, is produced as a result. When the gas is coupled with steam, it further changes into additional green hydrogen.
In test factories, the functionality of this method has been demonstrated to operate on a smaller scale. There is a setup in the DNV GL-run hydrogen innovation center on the Zernike Campus in Groningen.
Comparable projects
Initiator Torrgas is working on a number of comparable projects in the Netherlands, one of which is at the Chemelot industrial park adjacent to Geleen. There, the designs have already advanced a little more than in Delfzijl.
