The national hydrogen network will connect the major industrial regions in the Netherlands with each other and with Germany and Belgium from 2030. In North Holland, the North Sea Canal Area (NZKG) and Den Helder will have a direct connection to the network.
King Willem-Alexander performed the official opening ceremony for the construction of the national hydrogen network on Friday 27 October in Rotterdam. The King then spoke with various involved organisations from the Netherlands and abroad about the sustainability of the business community, the role of hydrogen within a sustainable energy system, the transport of hydrogen and about import possibilities.
Gasunie is developing the hydrogen network step by step. The first part of the national network, a route of more than 30 kilometers, runs in Rotterdam from the Tweede Maasvlakte to Pernis, and is expected to be put into use in 2025. Towards the north, the network continues via the industrial cluster NZKG. A branch to Den Helder is planned for realization before 2030. The national network will eventually have a length of 1,200 kilometers and will largely consist of existing natural gas pipelines that will be reused. The network will have connections to large-scale hydrogen production facilities, import terminals in the seaports and companies at home and abroad that will use hydrogen to make their operations more sustainable.
Rob Jetten, Minister for Climate and Energy: “The start of the construction of the hydrogen network today is an important milestone. The Netherlands has major hydrogen ambitions: hydrogen is ideally suited to make our industry more sustainable and offers economic opportunities for the Netherlands as an important link in North-West Europe. This national network is indispensable for this. I am proud that we are the first country to start building a national network.”
