Construction starts on huge Dutch hydrogen network

King Willem-Alexander attended the inauguration of Gasunie’s hydrogen network project. Photo: Gasunie

The Netherland’s King Willem-Alexander attended the inauguration, which took place in Rotterdam on Friday.

With a total length of 1,200km, the hydrogen network will establish connections between five industrial clusters within the Netherlands, neighbouring countries and hydrogen storage facilities.

A budget of €1.5 billion has been set for the project, which will see the network largely repurposing existing gas infrastructure in the country.

The maiden section of the network spans 30km and is scheduled to link the Tweede Maasvlakte industrial park to Pernis. This section is expected to become operational in 2025.

Rising hydrogen demand

Meanwhile, a significant import infrastructure is being established at multiple ports across the country, which will facilitate the arrival of hydrogen in various forms, positioning the Netherlands as a key distribution hub for neighbouring European countries, with a particular focus on Germany.

Data provided by the Independent Commodity Intelligence Services indicates that Dutch hydrogen demand, primarily driven by the chemicals industry, is projected to rise from 38 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2023 to 46 TWh by 2030, 65 TWh by 2040, and by 95 TWh by 2050.

Germany is anticipated to reach 102 TWh of hydrogen demand by 2031.