Green Hydrogen

Energy Transition

As a signatory of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Netherlands has enshrined in law its commitment to a decarbonized future, and has agreed ambitious targets in a national Climate Agreement. For one of the most densely populated and industrialized countries in the world, meeting these targets will present considerable challenges. Billions of Euros will be invested over the coming decade to speed up the energy transition. The Dutch are planning substantial investments in renewable energy, especially offshore wind, and also solar power. Other key policies are aimed at putting all this carbon-neutral power to good use, through large-scale electrification of cars, road and maritime transport, residential heating and industrial processes.

Hydrogen is widely seen as a crucial technology to reach full decarbonization. The Dutch approach to building a hydrogen-based future has several distinctive characteristics. First of all, it is explicitly driven by the climate policies and commitments described above. Secondly, its scope takes in the entire value chain. Rather than viewing hydrogen production and various applications as separate issues, the Dutch have adopted an integrated approach to developing a ‘hydrogen economy’. Dozens of pilot projects are underway in which companies and research institutes are building a complete hydrogen ecosystem, not only focusing on technology but also on creating demand, business models and on tackling regulatory and safety issues. This is often done in public-private partnerships and in a very pragmatic way: the Dutch have an open approach to innovation and this encourages experimentation. Dutch hydrogen ambitions and initiatives are strongly embedded in European policies and innovation programs. The country is home to Europe’s first ‘hydrogen valley’, attracting foreign investors and technology companies who view the Netherlands as an excellent base for open innovation and business development. Another example is the carbon capture and storage project Porthos. For a complete overview of the Dutch expertise and ambitions on green hydrogen we refer you to the Hydrogen Guide.

The Netherlands has the ambition to become a hydrogen production and transport hub, and has a unique starting position for this based on the existing hydrogen production, offshore wind potential, 1000 km of gas pipelines that are suitable for hydrogen transport by 2026 at the latest (‘national H2 backbone’), and the strategic geographic position in Northwest Europe through the Port of Rotterdam. The Port of Rotterdam is a European energy hub handling approximately 13% of total European energy demand and is a multi-energy port by nature, working with its major oil and gas companies and broader port community of over 3000 commercial companies on introducing the fuels and feedstock of the future, both inside its industrial zone and to end customers elsewhere.

The Port of Rotterdam has signed an MOU with the Chilean Ministry of Energy regarding cooperation on the strategic issue of setting up one or several export-import corridors for green hydrogen between Chile and the Port of Rotterdam and the exchange of knowledge. The objective is to set Port of Rotterdam as a key distribution hub for the commercialization of green hydrogen exported from Chile to Europe in general, and The Netherlands in particular.

Chile, like all the Parties subscribed to the Paris Climate Agreement, must implement the necessary actions to fulfill the commitments agreed in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and move towards inclusive and sustainable development. Green hydrogen is a key element for Chile to reach its climate goals. Based on its enormous potential in renewable energy in wind, solar and hydropower, Chile has the ambition to become by 2030 one of the largest and cheapest hydrogen producers of the world. It is estimated that the low production cost is able to compensate the relatively high transportation costs due to its remote location, making the green hydrogen produced in Chile competitive on a global scale.

Chile is pursuing four lines of action in order to promote this new industry: Construction of a national green hydrogen strategy, development of safety standards, support for early projects, and international cooperation. Various public and private initiatives and pilots are already underway in Chile, such as the private project Haru Oni in the far south of Chile using wind power to produce hydrogen, which is turned into synthetic methanol to be converted into E-Fuel, and two green ammonia projects in the North of Chile to produce green ammonia at a large scale for domestic consumption, maritime transportation use, and possibly export.

Chile is making funds available to push the development of a green hydrogen industry, for example the USD 50 mln subsidy round through the Chilean economic development agency Corfo with the purpose of funding green hydrogen projects in Chile. Chile also has an active hydrogen association which is a colaborative platform between public, private and academic parties interested in using hydrogen as an energy vector. InvestChile, the government agency responsible for promoting Chile in the global market as a destination for foreign direct investment, has published a guide on development and opportunities in hydrogen in Chile.