Dutch duo to build hydrogen import infrastructure for 2025 start

The two Dutch energy infrastructure firms Gasunie and Vopak have said they will develop hydrogen import terminals in Dutch and German ports, with the first inflows expected by 2025.

PHOTO: Vopak terminals store a range of energy products, spanning oils, gases, biofuels - and next: hydrogen and ammonia. Gasunie

They say global supply chain networks need to be redrawn and infrastructure build to handle the quantities of green hydrogen required for the transition to more environmentally sustainable fuels.

Hydrogen will be imported to these ports on liquid hydrogen carriers or with ammonia as a hydrogen carrier. Gasunie and Vopak will develop storage infrastructure for hydrogen and ammonia imports, for transport on vessels, via pipelines or by train or road.

The infrastructure will be “open access”, they say, meaning that it can be open to all market participants.

Vopak is one of the world’s biggest tank storage providers for oil and gas products, but has more recently set its sights on hydrogen. Gasunie owns the Dutch gas supply network and a sizeable chunk of Germany’s network.

Last month, Vopak and Gasunie announced they had teamed up with the Port of Rotterdam and HES International to build an ammonia import terminal - the ACE Terminal - in Maasvlakte in Rotterdam. The terminal will import green ammonia, which will serve as a hydrogen carrier that can be converted back to hydrogen later on.