Equinor Joins EU’s Biggest Green Hydrogen Project

Equinor has announced that it has joined Europe’s biggest green hydrogen project; NortH₂.

The project aims to produce green hydrogen using renewable electricity from offshore wind off the coast of the Netherlands. It is expected to have a capacity of one gigawatt (GW) in 2027, four GW by 2030 and more than ten GW by 2040 for electrolysis, which is said to equate to 0.4. million tons of green hydrogen production in 2030 and one million tons of green hydrogen production by 2040.

“This is a ground-breaking project that Equinor is looking forward to contribute to,” Equinor Chief Executive Officer Anders Opedal said in a company statement.

“The project can be an important part in our efforts to build a competitive position in hydrogen, creating future value and industrial possibilities,” he added.

“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,” he added.

Pål Eitrheim the executive vice president of New Energy Solutions at Equinor, 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,” he added.

NortH₂ was launched in February 2020, with Shell, Groningen Seaports Gasunie and the province of Groningen. The project will complete a feasibility study by 2021, with the aim to start project development activities in the second half of next year, Equinor revealed.

Equinor is involved in several hydrogen projects, according to its website.

These include H21 North of England, a joint report which sets out how 3.7 million homes and 40,000 businesses in the north of England could be converted from natural gas to hydrogen and made emission-free by 2034; a project to convert Vattenfall’s Magnum gas-fired power plant in the Netherlands to run on hydrogen; and the H-Vision blue hydrogen project in Rotterdam.

Equinor is also a member of the Zero Carbon Humber partnership, which seeks to decarbonise the Humber industrial cluster, the UK’s largest cluster by emissions.

Source: Rigzone