North Sea Port will become a hydrogen hub in Western Europe
Belgium and the Netherlands will have a joint hydrogen plant. It will be located in the Axelse Vlakte industrial park, which is a part of North Sea Port, the cross-border maritime harbour. With the help of the new production facility, the two-country port intends to become a hydrogen hub in Western Europe.
Not only the top European ports such as Rotterdam and Antwerp are moving towards the hydrogen economy. Smaller harbours are also trying to keep pace with this trend. One of them is North Sea Port, the cross-border maritime facility that was incorporated only three years ago after merging the Dutch Zeeland Seaports (Vlissingen and Terneuzen) and the Flemish/Belgian port of Ghent. The young seaport will become a base for the planned hydrogen plant that will be built by VoltH2 and Virya Energy near the Dutch city of Terneuzen.
“North Sea Port is strongly committed to the energy transition. VoltH2’s new hydrogen plant in Terneuzen contributes to this effort and offers many opportunities for companies located in the Axelse Vlakte industrial park. In doing so, it further enhances North Sea Port’s position as a hydrogen hub in Western Europe,” said Daan Schalck, CEO of North Sea Port.
Few details
There are no detailed features of the new hydrogen plant at the North Sea Port. However, the partners have disclosed some of them. The hydrogen facility will have a 25-megawatt electrolysis unit and will produce up to 3,600 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. Moreover, the design of the green hydrogen plant is scalable, meaning that production can be doubled and possibly tripled at a later date.
According to the preliminary estimations, the project will cost from 35 to 40 million euros. The planned hydrogen plant will be erected in the Axelse Vlakte industrial park, which is located 10 kilometres southward from the Terneuzen site of North Sea Port. Therefore, the hydrogen facility will be accessible by road, rail and waterway for the supply and distribution of green hydrogen to the wider area.