Cooperation between the Netherlands and Germany on a common hydrogen backbone will greatly increase demand in the region, according to a report commissioned by the German and Dutch governments.

The study found that demand in the Netherlands and the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia could rise from current levels of 17TWh/yr and 41TWh/yr respectively to 162TWh and 239TWh respectively by 2050 if a common market is enacted—double the projected demand levels of a scenario where it is not.

The demand scenario is based on North Rhine-Westphalia’s recent hydrogen roadmap and was adapted for Dutch industrial areas.

It assumes the production of green hydrogen powered by renewable electricity from offshore wind sources in the North Sea.

401TWh/yr – Potential combined hydrogen demand in 2050

The initial phase of the high-demand scenario—up to 2030—sees hydrogen used primarily by commercial transport applications such as trains, buses and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as the substitution of existing demand in the chemical and petrochemical industry. Between 2030 and 2040, passenger cars and the steel and synthetic fuel sectors become increasingly important.

From 2035, the largest long-term impact on demand comes from production of synthetic kerosene, synthetic diesel and synthetic naphtha, as the refinery sector begins to decarbonise. After 2040, the scenario sees hydrogen used to decarbonise the cement industry.

Policy measures

For such a scenario to materialise, various measures need to be put in place. These include classifying hydrogen as a chemical in the Netherlands, the development of a regulatory framework for a hydrogen pipeline infrastructure, and co-ordinated cross-border planning in line with the EU’s Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) and Ten-Year Network Development (TYNDP) Plan.

TEN-E is a part of the EU energy and climate package, which provides financial support for cross-border and international energy projects with the goal of integrating member states’ energy systems. TYNDP is the EU’s pan-European electricity infrastructure development plan.

“The role of large-scale onshore and offshore hydrogen production from offshore wind is yet to be considered and developed” HY3 study

Furthermore, both countries need to establish and enforce rules for legal definition and certification of green hydrogen.

There are no regulatory barriers to storing hydrogen underground in Dutch and German national laws, but more explicit requirements are needed if this is to take place, according to the report. Hydrogen storage has not yet been undertaken at commercial scale in either country.

Renewable growth

The scenario would also require a rapid scale-up of offshore wind capacity, coupled with onshore and offshore deployment of power-to-gas technology.

“The regulatory framework for the offshore wind market in both countries is established, but the role of large-scale onshore and offshore hydrogen production from offshore wind is yet to be considered and developed,” says the study, which was carried about by three research institutes—Forschungzentrum Julich and Dena in Germany and TNO in the Netherlands—working collectively under the name HY3.

---

Author: Tom Young