The Hague, 25 August 2020 – Element NL has joined the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, a new body that is part of the European Industrial Strategy to help European industry, among other things, with the transition to climate neutrality. Since July 2020, the Alliance has been working on the development and deployment of hydrogen as an energy source in Europe, the aim being to help achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal and make Europe climate-neutral by 2050.
Jo Peters, Secretary-General of Element NL, welcomes this move: “Element NL sees hydrogen as an important energy source in our future integrated energy system. The oil and gas industry in the Netherlands has a major role to play in making this possible. We are already taking steps to develop the system and to achieve fully green hydrogen production in the longer term. We are now studying whether hydrogen can be produced offshore and, if so, how. But also whether our existing infrastructure can be used for its storage and transport. Gas production in the Netherlands will be phased out by 2050, so it makes sense to see whether our installations, pipelines and wells can play a role in the new system. An integrated approach to existing and new energy systems such as wind energy and hydrogen production yields synergy gains. These will help to reduce carbon emissions in sectors that cannot yet be fully electrified and offer flexibility to the energy system. The Alliance offers us a forum to explore opportunities, share knowledge and start joint projects to increase the impact of the pilots.”
Element NL and its members are actively involved in numerous projects to investigate the future possibilities of hydrogen production and system integration. The North Sea Energy programme and the PosHYdon pilot are examples of this that will enable the Dutch oil and gas industry to examine how the existing infrastructure can be used for hydrogen production and transport.