Norway’s Equinor and France’s Engie have agreed to progress the 1GW H2BE blue hydrogen project in Belgium following a year-long feasibility study.

H2BE will be sited in Ghent and use authothermal reforming technology with CCS. The captured CO₂ will be transported in liquid form for permanent storage at a site in the Norwegian North Sea.

Equinor and Engie will also cooperate with Belgium’s Fluxys to link H2BE with the latter’s planned hydrogen and CCS networks.

Belgium plans to create a European hydrogen import hub and is funding a network of hydrogen pipelines to connect the country’s ports to its industrial areas and Germany by 2028.

1GW – Planned H2BE capacity

More than 20 potential offtakers have expressed interest in the H2BE project, according to Equinor and Engie. The two firms plan to select a final concept for the project this year, with startup of the facility expected before 2030.

Equinor has also announced it is exploring green hydrogen as a potential development route for the 1.32GW Dogger Bank D offshore windfarm extension, of which it owns 50pc. It is assessing the feasibility of grid connection to Lincolnshire on the UK’s east coast or electricity supply to an onshore electrolyser in the Humber region, as well as a combination of the two. Equinor and co-owner SSE Renewables will publish their initial scoping report in March.

Earlier this month, Equinor announced it had exited the Barents Blue ammonia and Polaris CCS projects in Norway.

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Author: Polly Martin