Just as with the transition from petrol cars to EVs, the Dutch government wants to be a good example for the rest of the (European) countries. That is why our country must form the green hydrogen hub between the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. We will do this through a large hydrogen network.
On Friday, October 27, King Willem-Alexander gave the go-ahead for the construction of the network. By 2030, the infrastructure must have grown to 1,200 kilometers. This project should cost 1.5 billion euros. 750 million euros will be paid by the government and the remainder by the network builder, Gasunie. The first part should be ready sometime in 2025.
The Netherlands has a total of 9 billion euros for the production, storage and transport of green hydrogen. We will generate green hydrogen ourselves through wind farms, but we will also import the stuff. In addition, investments must also be made to store green hydrogen.
The Netherlands’ goal with green hydrogen
The Dutch government wants to connect five major industrial areas with the network: Chemelot in Limburg, Yara in Sluiskil in Zeeland, the Second Maasvlakte near Rotterdam, Tata Steel in IJmuiden and Eemshaven in Delfzijl. Only a small part of the network will be new. 85 percent of the pipes are old pipes that transported natural gas.
By the way, don’t expect this to have much effect on the hydrogen car. Minister for Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten says: ‘Hydrogen is ideally suited to make our industry more sustainable and offers economic opportunities for the Netherlands as an important link in Northwestern Europe.’
Why the investment is not focused on hydrogen cars
It turns out that it is better to make industry more sustainable with hydrogen than with cars. According to RTL News it is expensive to convert green hydrogen from raw material to fuel. In addition, you lose a lot of energy during conversion, which makes it inefficient. The government believes it is better to focus on electric cars whose energy is generated with solar panels.
Will hydrogen cars come to the Netherlands? Probably. State Secretary Heijnen of Infrastructure and Water Management does believe in hydrogen cars. She even thinks that the fuel will be ‘of indispensable value’. You can read more about this in the article below.
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