Two transmission system operators, Dutch Gasunie and German Thyssengas, plan to build a hydrogen transportation network connecting the German offshore network on Germany’s North Sea coast to the Dutch offshore network, Gasunie announced in a recent statement.
The German hydrogen network would play an important role in the large-scale import of hydrogen from Norway and the increasing supply of green hydrogen from future wind farms in the North Sea, the statement said.
It will also enable cross-border options for importing and, eventually, exporting hydrogen via the Dutch offshore network.
'In the German government's hydrogen strategy, besides a hydrogen network throughout Germany and large-scale storage facilities, the North Sea plays a crucial role in making German society more sustainable and contributing to greater European energy independence,' the statement highlighted.
Through this network, a rapid increase in the amount of hydrogen produced by offshore wind farms and the amount of hydrogen imported from neighboring countries is expected from 2030 on.
To transport it onshore, a hydrogen transport network at sea is required. This will support the first German wind farm, known as SEN-1, which will be tendered in 2023 and have an electrolysis capacity of approximately 1 GW.
- Esbjerg Declaration to increase hydrogen colloboration
In 2022, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Belgium signed the Esbjerg Declaration, in which all parties agreed to develop the North Sea as a 'green power plant.'
Under this declaration, large-scale electrical energy transportation onshore will be realized, and significant wind energy capacity will be converted to hydrogen at sea and transported ashore from the North Sea via international hydrogen connections.
Network operators and governments from different countries are working together as much as possible to realize the green power plant.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr