Dutch gas infrastructure company Gasunie has applied to the European Commission for Project of Common Interest (PCI) status, proceeding with its intentions to develop a hydrogen network in the German part of the North Sea.
Gasunie’s application is part of the international Clean Hydrogen for Europe partnership working together to realise the entire hydrogen chain, from production, transport, and storage to connecting end-users in north-western Europe.
Gasunie said it will play a connecting role to connect the various hydrogen networks emerging in the different North Sea countries.
Companies from Germany, Belgium, France, and Norway have contributed their PCI projects to the partnership.
According to Gasunie, the German offshore network will be connected to the Dutch offshore network, providing cross-border options to import and eventually even export hydrogen through the Dutch offshore network.
The company said the aim is to commission the hydrogen network in the German North Sea from 2030, and the connection to the Netherlands will follow in subsequent years.
Gasunie’s plan is in line with the German government’s hydrogen strategy, in which, 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.
According to Gasunie, from 2030, the amount of hydrogen produced by offshore wind farms and the amount of hydrogen imported from neighbouring countries will increase rapidly, and a hydrogen transport network at sea is needed to transport it to land.
In 2022, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Belgium signed the Esbjerg Declaration, in which they agreed to develop the North Sea as a ‘green power plant.’
Gasunie’s application follows the Dutch cabinet’s intention to appoint the company to develop a hydrogen network in the Dutch part of the North Sea.
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