Denmark and the Netherlands press ahead with green hydrogen cluster plans

Danish green hydrogen producers and Dutch industrial market players have reiterated their commitment to developing a green hydrogen cluster in Northwestern Europe and welcomed a new partner to this initiative.

The Danish-Dutch partnership aims to establish Northwest Europe’s leading green hydrogen cluster, bridging Danish production with Dutch demand. By enhancing green hydrogen infrastructure, the collaboration seeks to boost demand, advocate for government support, and secure funding to make green hydrogen a competitive energy source across the region.

During the forum on hydrogen cooperation on November 12, in the presence of HM King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and HM King Frederik of Denmark, the signatories of the Dutch-Danish Offtake Declaration on green hydrogen and its derivatives issued a joint statement on the industry cooperation between Danish producers and suppliers of green hydrogen, and the Dutch industrial offtake market.

“Together, Denmark and the Netherland can build the full value-chain from production to offtake of green hydrogen and its derivatives. Both countries play a vital role in the development of offshore wind in the North Sea and the coherent infrastructure of power and hydrogen grids. We believe that our combined capabilities in developing and integrating green energy can be replicated on a large scale with renewable energy and electrolysis technology. Further, both countries can create green import corridors by ship and pipelines to Central Europe,” the partners emphasized in the joint statement.

The statement calls for:

• support of the development of a coherent Danish-German-Dutch land-based hydrogen infrastructure to connect the countries via the Hyperlink 1-3 network by realizing off-take commitments that can unlock pipeline investments; and joint projects between Danish and Dutch partners to identify the need for and development of large-scale hydrogen storage;
• fast implementation of EU regulations, especially the RED III industry targets, to incentivize industry to commit to offtaking green hydrogen and its derivatives;
• joint projects between Danish and Dutch players to secure the required funding to support the first mover producers and off-takers, especially to close the price gap between green hydrogen and fossil-based hydrogen;
• necessary support to enable the operation of offshore hydrogen infrastructure to connect Danish, German, and Dutch offshore energy hubs by mid-2030’s, and key regulation of offshore hydrogen infrastructure to come in place within the next few years;
• support for large-scale offshore hydrogen production in the North Sea, through sectoral collaboration, to utilize the offshore wind potential and produce cost-competitive hydrogen.

The cross-country initiative was also joined by a new partner – Scandiavia’s airline SAS. The airline said this partnership would drive progress toward a more sustainable future for aviation.

“We’re very excited and proud to join forces in this green hydrogen partnership, which brings us closer to a sustainable future for aviation. If Europe is to meet its climate goals and strengthen energy security, public and private sectors as well as countries must work together to build a strong green hydrogen market. We’re committed to doing our part to help drive real progress,” SAS President & CEO, Anko van der Werff, commented.

The declaration signatories include Port of Esbjerg, CIP, Ørsted, RWE, Vattenfall, European Energy, Topsoe, Total Energies, Everfuel, Morgen Energy, SAS, Green Power Denmark, Danish Industry, Toyota (en Louwman), Port of Rotterdam, Nobian, SkyNRG, Fountain Fuel, North Sea Port, North Gas Transport, GasUnie, Rotterdam Airport, Port of Amsterdam, Resato, HyCC, and Engie.

The signing of the joint statement on green hydrogen offtake was part of HM King Willem-Alexander’s visit to Denmark and Norway. The aim of the working visit is to expand cooperation between the Netherlands and Denmark and Norway in the realm of hydrogen and regional hydrogen infrastructure.

On this occasion, NL Hydrogen and Hydrogen Denmark signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to tighten their bonds and increase hydrogen collaboration between the Danish and Dutch hydrogen sectors.

During his visit, HM King Willem-Alexander also witnessed the signing of the landmark agreement between Dutch shipowner and operator Royal Wagenborg and INEOS Energy, a London-based E&P business, on the delivery of a new CO2 carrier.

The purpose-built CO2 carrier, designed to meet “the highest” standards of safety and efficiency, will facilitate large-scale transport of CO2 to the Greensand storage site in the Danish North Sea, led by INEOS with its partners Harbour Energy and Nordsøfonden.