Green hydrogen for Flemish industry is one step closer, Belgium.
[Business AM] The announcements about hydrogen projects in Belgium and the Netherlands follow each other. Will hydrogen become the energy carrier of the future?For some answers to these questions, we have to go to Zeeland, the Dutch province on the border with Belgium. Developments are underway there that could also have an impact on the distribution of hydrogen in our country.
The region wants to profile itself as a centre for hydrogen that is produced sustainably, “green hydrogen” in the jargon. This has a lot to do with the location on the coast and the possibilities in the field of wind energy. The wind turbines can supply green electricity to the “electrolysers”, say the hydrogen plants.
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Electrolysis is the chemical separation process in which hydrogen is extracted from water with the help of electricity. The hydrogen can only be called truly climate neutral if the electricity used is ecologically generated, and does not use fossil fuels. Several sustainable electrolysis projects are already in the works in Zeeland, including a project by the Colruyt family.
Pipelines
An announcement followed about the second challenge: the transport of the hydrogen. The Dutch gas transporter Gasunie and North Sea Port (the merger of the ports of Ghent, Terneuzen and Vlissingen) have signed an agreement for the development of a regional transport network for hydrogen in Zeeland. They are thinking, among other things, of the reuse of existing natural gas pipelines.
Important for the companies in the Ghent port area and further on: a link with Belgium is also being considered. “This ‘Hydrogen Delta Network NL’ builds on the current position of the region for hydrogen and should take shape in the coming years. This will be followed by the connection of this regional infrastructure to the national Dutch and Belgian hydrogen infrastructure.”
It was previously announced that North Sea Port, together with the Belgian gas transport company Fluxys and steel giant ArcelorMittal Gent, wants to develop a similar regional network in Belgium: first in the Ghent port area, with eventually possibly also connections to the port of Antwerp.
In 2027, all this can be linked to the national hydrogen infrastructure that Gasunie wants to develop in the Netherlands.
Gasunie.
This backbone will not only connect the Dutch industrial clusters, but will also have connections with the hydrogen storage in the north of the Netherlands, Germany and other parts of Belgium.
Hydrogen generator
Innovations on hydrogen are also being launched at other levels of the energy chain. The East Flemish company E-Power presented a hydrogen generator that should be an environmentally friendly alternative to the classic generator on diesel. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central. The “zero-emission hydrogen generator” converts hydrogen into electricity and can serve as a backup if there is a breakdown of the power network or in areas without an electricity connection.
Van der Straeten
It will also be a theme in European politics. Earlier this week, federal Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten (Green) presented at an informal European Council of Ministers in Slovenia the joint position of seven European countries – the Benelux, Germany, France, Austria and non-EU member Switzerland – on hydrogen as an important vehicle for achieving climate targets.
Van der Straeten:
With an ambitious approach, hydrogen is no longer a distant dream, but almost a reality.
“If we want green hydrogen to really contribute to the climate goals by 2030, we need to start now.”
Green hydrogen for Flemish industry is one step closer, September 23, 2021
