Rotterdam port confident on hydrogen pipeline

The Rotterdam port authority is confident that there will be sufficient hydrogen supply and demand to justify the development of its hydrogen pipeline project with Dutch gas system operator Gasunie linking Maasvlakte and Pernis.

The port told Argus that it is going "full speed ahead" with preparations for a hydrogen pipeline within the port, which is planned to enter into operation by the second quarter of 2024.

This is despite Dutch energy regulator ACM's warning last month not to develop hydrogen infrastructure while future hydrogen demand is still uncertain. ACM's report has no effect on these plans, the port authority told Argus.

Unlike regulated energy markets elsewhere in Europe, the Dutch regulator has no authority to approve projects, meaning that hydrogen pipeline projects can go ahead regardless of the regulator's suggestions.

The port authority is in discussion with several firms about connecting planned electrolysers to the hydrogen link, it told Argus.

The first customers for the pipeline would be Shell and Eneco, which are developing a 200MW electrolyser at Maasvlakte. A final investment decision on the project is expected at the end of this year, the port said. The electrolyser would use power by wind from the 759MW Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farm, which is also being developed by Shell and Eneco and is due to come on line in 2023. The pipeline would link the electrolyser to Shell's 420,000 b/d Pernis refinery 30km away. Shell is also exploring adding a hydro-processed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) facility at the site, to produce sustainable low-carbon vehicles and aviation fuels.

BP and chemicals firm Nouryon are exploring a 250MW electrolyser to produce 45,000 t/yr of green hydrogen, with a final investment decision expected in 2022.

And Uniper is planning a 100MW electrolyser at the site of its Maasvlakte coal-fired power plant by 2025, with the option of expanding to 500MW at a later stage. Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall is also planning a 100MW electrolyser in the area.

The Dutch economy ministry has approved state support for 24 domestic hydrogen projects, half of which are located in Rotterdam, the port authority said.

Gasunie said it still expects a final investment decision on the pipeline in the second half of this year. The Dutch energy ministry is currently working on the conditions and regulations for the hydrogen market and its infrastructure, and more information on this is expected later this year, it said.

In addition to the Rotterdam pipeline, Gasunie plans to develop the Dutch hydrogen grid, which is expected to have a total capacity of 10GW and to be operational from 2027. Construction is expected to begin this autumn, with around 85pc of the network to consist of converted natural gas pipelines.

Shell and German utility Uniper plan to develop infrastructure for the large-scale transport of hydrogen and CO2 from the ports of Rotterdam and Wilhelmshaven to North Rhine-Westphalia where much of German industry is concentrated. This will include Shell's Rheinland Energy and Chemicals Park, where it recently started a 10MW electrolyser and has plans to build another 100MW of electrolysis capacity.

By Elaine Atwood and Killian Staines