OREANDA-NEWS. March 17, 2016. Dow Benelux, Yara and ICL IP are planning to exchange hydrogen for industrial applications via the national gas transport network of Gasunie Transport Services. The underground transportation via this network provides a sustainable, efficient and safe method to transport hydrogen. To ratify their intentions, Minister Kamp of Economic Affairs and the parties involved signed the Green Deal 'Regional Hydrogen' today.

By signing this deal, Minister Kamp shows his support for this form of regional hydrogen exchange via gas pipelines, as an important step towards strengthening the industrial cluster. The Province of Zeeland is contributing up to €200,000 for a study into the second phase of the hydrogen symbiosis. With this deal, companies in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen can achieve a huge energy gain and substantial CO2 reduction. The reduction could amount to between 20,000 and 40,000 tons of CO2, comparable to the heat demand of 10,000 to 20,000 people. The project is also a first success for the industrial cooperation on the Smart Delta Resources (SDR) platform.

“This Green Deal shows that the national gas transport network can contribute to making the industry in the Delta region more sustainable,” says Bart Jan Hoevers, manager Network Development at Gasunie Transport Services. “By offering customised gas solutions, we can achieve green growth in a generally quite difficult sector. And that is great news.”

Win-win for green growth in the region

The Green Deal between the Dutch Government and seven stakeholders paves the way to the realisation of hydrogen exchange within the SDR framework, with a clear win-win situation:

  • Higher-quality use of the hydrogen released by Dow's crackers. This hydrogen is used as a raw material by Yara and ICL IP for the production of high-grade products
  • A reduction in energy consumption. Initially 0.15 PJ per year, which corresponds to the gas consumption of approx. 3,000 households. In a next phase, the savings will increase even more.
  • The underground network provides a sustainable, efficient and safe method to transport hydrogen.
  • The transport of hydrogen by road to ICL-IP is reduced by 70% to 80%, which also improves external security.
  • The project as a whole reduces CO2 emissions by between 20,000 and 40,000 tonnes: comparable to the heat demand of 10,000 to 20,000 people.

“The real added value of this industrial cooperation is that it is a driving force for other initiatives aimed at making industry in the region more sustainable,” says Anton Van Beek, President of the Board of Dow Benelux. “This is an important step towards the joint realisation of a new future for industry”. 

The platform Smart Delta Resources (SDR) is an initiative of eleven energy and raw material-based industrial companies in the Delta region. With the support of the province of Zeeland, Zealand Seaports and Economische Impuls Zealand, the platform is developing concrete business cases.