Shell Nederland and Shell Overseas Investments, both Shell subsidiaries, have confirmed the start of construction of Holland Hydrogen I, which they say will be the Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant once operational in 2025.
The 200 MW Holland Hydrogen I smelter plant will be built on the Tweede Maasvlakte in the port of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and will produce up to 60,000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen per day.
Hydrogen production will be powered by electricity from the Hollandse Kust Noord offshore wind farmof 759 MW, which is being developed by the CrossWind consortium of Shell and Eneco and whose commissioning is scheduled for next year.
It is expected that hydrogen is transported through the HyTransPort pipelinewhich will be part of the hydrogen infrastructure of the Netherlands, with a length of about 40 km that will go from the plant to the Shell Energy and Chemical Park in Rotterdam, where it will replace part of the use of gray hydrogen in the refinery.
This could partially decarbonize the production of energy products installation, such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. As heavy-duty trucks come to market and fueling networks expand, renewable hydrogen supply can also flow to them to help decarbonize commercial road transport, Shell said.
Holland Hydrogen I shows how new energy solutions can work together to meet society’s need for cleaner energy. It is also another example of Shell’s efforts and commitment to becoming a net zero emissions company by 2050.
Renewable hydrogen will play a vital role in the energy system of the future and this project is an important step in helping hydrogen realize this potential.
Anna Mascolo, Executive Vice President of Emerging Energy Solutions at Shell.
Thyssenkrupp Chlorine Engineers is responsible for the engineering, procurement and manufacturing of the Holland Hydrogen I plant, which will be based on its 20 MW large-scale alkaline water electrolysis module.
Shell says its ambition is to help build a global hydrogen economy by developing opportunities in the production, storage, transport and delivery of hydrogen to end customers.
The approval of Holland Hydrogen I marks an important step on this path, not only for the Netherlands, but also for Shell globally, the company said.