Netherlands grants DEI+ subsidy to PosHYdon offshore green hydrogen project

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) has awarded a Eur3.6 million ($4.2 million) subsidy to the PosHYdon offshore renewable hydrogen project in the Dutch North Sea, the project consortium said July 22.

The consortium said that with the subsidy it could start all activities for the pilot project, with the remaining budget covered by project partners.

The subsidy was granted under RVO's Demonstration Energy and Climate Innovation (DEI+) scheme, which supports renewable energy developments, consortium member Neptune Energy said in a statement.

"PosHYdon will teach us a lot about the next steps that need to be taken towards safe, large-scale green hydrogen production at sea," Rene Peters, Business Director Gas Technologies TNO and initiator of the North Sea Energy Program, said in a statement.

"Offshore green hydrogen production will enable large-scale wind farms to be developed far out at sea," Peters said. "Wind energy is then directly converted to green hydrogen and can be transported through the existing gas infrastructure. As a result, offshore wind projects can be realized faster at significantly lower costs for society."

The pilot will use Neptune Energy's Q13a-A platform, which is already fully electrified with renewable power, approximately 13 km off the coast of Scheveningen.

The project will convert seawater into demineralized water, and then into hydrogen via electrolysis, powered by offshore wind turbines. The pilot aims to integrate energy systems at sea and test the efficiency of the 1-MW electrolyzer, which will produce up to 400 kg/day of hydrogen.

The hydrogen will be mixed with natural gas and transported by existing gas pipelines to the coast.

S&P Global Platts assessed the cost of producing hydrogen via alkaline electrolysis in the Netherlands (including capex) at Eur5.07/kg July 22. PEM electrolysis production was assessed at Eur6.30/kg, while blue hydrogen production by steam methane reforming (including carbon, CCS and capex) was Eur2.76/kg.

The PosHYdon consortium partners are: Nel Hydrogen, InVesta, Hatenboer, IV-Offshore & Energy, Nexstep, TNO, Neptune Energy, Gasunie, Noordgastransport, NOGAT, DEME Offshore, TAQA and Eneco.

Neptune Energy operates the Q13a-A platform and owns 50%, with EBN holding 40% and TAQA Offshore the remaining 10%.