Shell Nederland B.V. and Shell Overseas Investments B.V., subsidiaries of Shell plc, have taken the final investment decision to build Holland Hydrogen I, which will be Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant once operational in 2025.
The 200MW electrolyser will be constructed on the Tweede Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam and will produce up to 60,000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen per day.
The renewable power for the electrolyser will come from the offshore wind farm Hollandse Kust (noord), which is partly owned by Shell.
The renewable hydrogen produced will supply the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, by way of the HyTransPort pipeline (a new hydrogen pipeline through the Port of Rotterdam which will form a part of the Netherlands hydrogen infrastructure), where it will replace some of the grey hydrogen usage in the refinery.
This will partially decarbonise the facility’s production of energy products like petrol and diesel and jet fuel. As heavy-duty trucks are coming to market and refuelling networks grow, renewable hydrogen supply can also be directed toward these to help in decarbonising commercial road transport.
Anna Mascolo, Executive Vice President, Emerging Energy Solutions at Shell said Holland Hydrogen I demonstrates how new energy solutions can work together to meet society’s need for cleaner energy.
“Renewable hydrogen will play a pivotal role in the energy system of the future and this project is an important step in helping hydrogen fulfil that potential.”
Shell’s ambition is to help build a global hydrogen economy by developing opportunities in the production, storage, transport, and delivery of hydrogen to end customers. Holland Hydrogen I’s approval marks an important milestone on that journey.
Shell owns and operates around 10 per cent of the global capacity of installed hydrogen electrolysers, including a 20 MW electrolyser in China and a 10 MW proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser in Germany. They can produce, respectively, 3,000 tonnes and 1,300 tonnes of hydrogen a year.
Shell is also working on a number of low-carbon hydrogen production projects with potential capacity of over 950 ktpa.
