NortH2, Europe

Green hydrogen at scale

Project Overview

1Mt
green hydrogen produced annually by 2040
NortH2 will create the world’s largest system of offshore wind farms, transmitting power onshore to produce green hydrogen by electrolysis, then transporting the hydrogen via converted gas infrastructure to industrial centres in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, including a bulk underground salt cavern storage near Zuidwending.

Opportunity

NortH2 is one of the largest green hydrogen projects in Europe and will make a major contribution towards meeting European Union, Dutch, German and Belgian climate goals by demonstrating renewables-to-hydrogen technology at scale. NortH2 will deliver largescale production, storage and transport of green hydrogen to industrial sectors that are currently reliant on natural gas, and that it is difficult to electrify.

Solution

New offshore wind farms will generate renewable electricity, with capacity growing from 1GW in 2027 to 4GW by 2030, and potentially more than 10GW in 2040. The NortH2 wind farms are additional to those already planned for renewable electricity supply, with the power generated used solely to produce green hydrogen.

Green hydrogen is produced in an electrolysis plant to split clean water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen will initially be produced from a dedicated electrolyser plant in Eemshaven, Netherlands, and later possibly at sea on a platform, human-made island or directly at the wind turbines.

NortH2 is currently at the feasibility stage and we’re acting as the technical integration and optimisation contractor, developing conceptual designs and technical solutions to bring the project to life. We're also providing cost, scheduling and risk management services associated with the technical implementation, to further inform investment decisions. The management and control of risks and opportunities is a key part of this process to achieve NortH2’s targeted levelised-cost of hydrogen – the average cost per MWh of hydrogen produced over the full lifetime of the plant.

Outcome

Overall, NortH2 aims to produce 1Mt of green hydrogen annually by 2040, avoiding up to 10Mt of CO2 a year. It is hoped the project will help accelerate the development of an international hydrogen market.

Subscribe for exclusive updates

Receive our expert insights on issues that transform business, increase sustainability and improve lives.