Pål Eitrheim (left), Equinor executive vice president for New Energy Solutions and CEO Anders Opedal

Norway-based energy company Equinor has joined NortH₂, Europe’s biggest ‘green’ hydrogen project which aims to produce energy using renewable electricity from offshore wind sources off the coast of Netherlands of about 4GW by 2030, and over 10GW by 2040, kick-starting the hydrogen economy in Northwest Europe.

Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said: “This is a ground-breaking project that Equinor is looking forward to contribute to. The project can be an important part in our efforts to build a competitive position in hydrogen, creating future value and industrial possibilities.

“Our aim is to be a net-zero energy company by 2050 and developing a profitable low carbon value chain for hydrogen will be an essential part of our transition to become a broad energy company. Hydrogen will be key to decarbonisation and net-zero efforts for the energy market, especially in otherwise hard to abate sectors which cannot be served by electricity.”

NortH₂ was launched in February 2020, with Shell, Groningen Seaports Gasunie and the province of Groningen. Equinor joins RWE as new partners to the project which is hoping to complete a feasibility study by 2021, with the aim to start project development activities in the second half of 2021.

The project will have a capacity of 1GW in 2027, 4GW by 2030 and over 10GW by 2040 for electrolysis. This equates to 0.4 million tonnes of green hydrogen production in 2030 and 1 million tonnes of green hydrogen production by 2040.

If successful, this will abate 8 to 10 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions — the equivalent to the yearly emissions from road traffic in Norway. The rapid growth in offshore wind is well suited to developing a green hydrogen value chain.

Pål Eitrheim, Equinor executive vice president new energy solutions, said: “NortH₂ fits well with Equinor’s experience and position as a leading offshore wind operator. Hydrogen will add to the competitiveness of renewables in the years to come, by adding value and an alternative route to market for renewables. The development of viable large-scale clean hydrogen value chains twill help meet the Paris agreement targets.”

The North Sea has a great potential for large-scale wind development as there is extensive existing natural gas infrastructure that is suitable for storage and large-scale transport of hydrogen, and there are large industrial clusters in the Netherlands and Germany as well as heavy duty vehicle OEMs that could economically benefit from a ‘first mover’ advantage.

NortH₂ expands the energy transition agenda for Equinor by adding a significant green hydrogen value chain. This complements already existing renewable and low-carbon world-class projects like Dogger Bank (offshore wind), Northern Lights (CCS) and H2H Saltend (Blue hydrogen).

It is hoped that the NortH₂ project will make an important domestic contribution to meet expected quickly growing hydrogen demand and thereby help meet Dutch as well as European Union climate targets for 2030 — it will also ensure long-term decarbonisation in-line with the 2016 Paris Agreement.

The project fits well with the agenda of the Northern Netherlands to become a leading region for green hydrogen, supporting economic development and the creation of high-skilled jobs.