Port of Rotterdam Building 1-GW Green Hydrogen Plant

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has announced that it will be developing a very large green hydrogen plant (upto 1-GW capacity) at an 11 hectare site on the Maasvlakte. The reason is the tender for the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm later this year.

In the procedure for plot Beta, the Minister for Climate and Energy is encouraging companies to smartly integrate much of the wind energy into the energy system. The production of green hydrogen directly on the coast is a logical solution, as it avoids additional load on the high-voltage network.

The Rotterdam Port Authority held that the wind farm and hydrogen plant should be ready around 2028.

Allard Castelein, Port of Rotterdam Authority CEO, said, ‘The construction of a hydrogen plant with a capacity of 1 GW is the next leap in scale in the production of green hydrogen. Several companies are now building, or have advanced plans to build, electrolysers with a capacity of 200 to 250 MW at the Maasvlakte.”

He said that these would currently be the largest in Europe, but the port already want to accommodate the next generation of hydrogen plants. These are expected to be five times larger.

Rotterdam Port Authority says that many companies have plans to realise a total of some 1,350 MW (1.35 GW) of electrolysis in Rotterdam. The ambition of the Rotterdam Port Authority is to achieve 2 to 2.5 GW of electrolysis by 2030. That will be within reach with this development. The national government is aiming for 4 GW nationwide by 2030.

As per Rotterdam Port Authority, more wind farms will be built in the North Sea in the coming years. Part of the electricity they generate will be used to make green hydrogen.

This site offers space for up to 1 GW of electrolysis and is located next to where Tennet’s Amaliahaven (380 kV) high-voltage substation will be built. This is the destination of the 2 GW DC cable from the IJmuiden Ver Wind Farm Zone Beta. All green electricity converted directly into hydrogen does not enter the electricity grid, thus avoiding additional load on the grid. In addition, the new hydrogen pipeline will soon run alongside the site.