During the Wind Meets Gas symposium on Thursday, Gasunie and French energy provider Engie announced plans to build the largest green hydrogen factory in Europe. The Eemshaven is one of the possible locations for the facility.
Translation by Traci White
The Groninger Internet Courant reports that the factory would use an electrolyser to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen. The factory would require an investment of between 50 and 100 million euros. The facility would reportedly eventually have a peak capacity of 100 megawatts, which would make it ten times stronger than the largest existing facilities in Europe. Engie and Gasunie emphasise that 100 megawatt capacity is reliant upon techniques which are still under development.
Eemshaven
Engie and Gasunie are eyeing the Eemshaven as a location for the facility, due to the potential to connect it to offshore wind farms and access to existing natural gas infrastructure. However, both companies say that a definitive decision has yet to be made.
The companies see green hydrogen as an energy source which could play an important role in the energy transition. In various forms, hydrogen can be stored and could therefore be used to contain energy generated by wind turbines in windy conditions, among other applications. Hydrogen can also be used as a fuel source for vehicles.
Green hydrogen in the north
A number of initiatives across Groningen are seeking to utilise green hydrogen. Groningen Seaports announced in May that they would build a pipeline to transport the substance in Eemshaven and Delfzijl. Gas technology company Holthausen has a four-million-euro subsidy to build hydrogen filling stations in Groningen and Amsterdam, and the drone hub at Groningen Airport Eelde is planning to experiment with using hydrogen as a fuel source to increase the range of their drones.
