The Netherlands and Germany bolster hydrogen ties

November 15, 2023, by Ajsa Habibic

Germany and the Netherlands have signed joint declarations of intent to strengthen their cooperation in the field of hydrogen infrastructure and import and establish a cross-border hydrogen ecosystem.

The declarations of intent were signed in Duisburg as part of the Dutch King Willem-Alexander’s working visit to North Rhine-Westphalia on November 14, 2023.

Two declarations are said to be a concrete follow-up to the Dutch-German government consultation from March 27, 2023. They also build on the results of a bilateral forum of experts on hydrogen infrastructure at the Dutch embassy in Berlin on February 14, 2023.

Under the “Joint Declaration on Further Energy Cooperation in the Field of Hydrogen Infrastructure”, the two countries seek to potentially create and realize four cross-border hydrogen interconnectors that will be integrated into the European hydrogen network by 20232.

To this end, Germany and the Netherlands are working on creating a conducive framework for private-sector hydrogen projects with a cross-border dimension.

The “ Joint Declaration of Intent to conduct a joint tender under the H2Global instrument ”, includes a joint import of green hydrogen. Both countries plan to use Germany’s H2Global mechanism to provide support for companies to start producing green hydrogen abroad.

The aim is to secure hydrogen demand and support the international market ramp-up of green hydrogen. Specifically, the Netherlands and Germany will each invest €300 million euros on a joint global tender and ten-year purchase contracts for imports of green hydrogen from 2027.

Parallel to the King’s visit, H2 Connecting Event, which sought to lay the foundation for intra-European hydrogen corridors, with Spanish producers potentially supplying German off-takers via the Netherlands, was organized in Duisburg where German and Dutch companies signed a number of agreements.

Namely, Gasunie subsidiary Hynetwork Services and German transmission system operators Open Grid Europe and Thyssengas signed a cooperation agreement on the connection of the national hydrogen networks between the Netherlands and Germany.

Furthermore, BP, Uniper, E.ON/Essent, Onyx Power, Equinor, and ENGIE signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which they intend to transport hydrogen via the Netherlands to (industrial) customers in Germany, including North Rhine-Westphalia.

Moreover, German energy company EnBW and Rotterdam’s import terminal ACE Terminal announced plans to cooperate to supply hydrogen from ACE Terminal’s planned facilities at the Port of Rotterdam to German end-users.

Port of Amsterdam also signed three agreements during the H2 Connecting Event. One of the agreements is an MoU with Port of Bilbao, Petronor, EVE, Zenith Energy Terminals, Evos Amsterdam, and duisport for exploring the development of an intra-European corridor for renewable hydrogen.

In addition, the Port of Amsterdam and duisport inked a joint study agreement, with the specific aim of assessing technical and financial requirements, transport modalities, and infrastructure for the realization of a resilient supply chain between the two ports.

The third agreement, signed with EnBW, Zenith Energy Terminals, and GasLog, strives to establish a green, liquid hydrogen connection through the Port of Amsterdam to the facilities of EnBW in Germany.