Norwegian energy major Equinor has launched its first Hydrogen Open Season, inviting parties to express their interest in purchasing low-carbon hydrogen from its planned 1 GW project in Eemshaven in the Netherlands.
In collaboration with industrial gases and engineering company Linde, Equinor is developing the H2M Eemshaven project that will reform natural gas into low-carbon hydrogen with carbon capture and storage.
According to Equinor, more than 95% of the CO2 will be captured and stored safely and permanently under the seabed offshore Norway.
The project is planned for a production capacity of 1 GW (210,000 tonnes of decarbonized hydrogen) to help both the Netherlands and Germany reduce their CO2 emissions while maintaining the security of the energy supply.
The front-end engineering design (FEED) phase kicked off in April this year, with production start-up planned by 2030.
As part of the joint development agreement, Equinor launched its first Hydrogen Open Season to gauge interest in low-carbon hydrogen from the H2M Eemshaven facility.
The call was opened on December 2, 2024, inviting interested parties to register their interest in securing low-carbon hydrogen under a long-term supply and offtake agreement.
The registration process is open until January 31, 2025.
Based on the information provided in the registration phase, Equinor intends to assess parties according to planned connectivity to the hydrogen grid and basic financial information.
The company noted that parties with a minimum annual offtake of 50 MW will be prioritized.
Qualifying parties will then be invited to participate in the next phase of the Open Season, where subject to a non-disclosure agreement, Equinor will share detailed information on the offered product as well as contractual terms and delivery conditions.