Neptune Energy, RWE to work together on Dutch North Sea green hydrogen plan

Independent oil producer Neptune Energy and German utility company RWE said on Tuesday that they have agreed to develop the offshore green hydrogen project H2opZee in the Dutch North Sea by 2030.  

“Hydrogen is a gamechanger in the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors and H2opZee is a world first of this kind and scale,” said Sven Utermöhlen, CEO Offshore Wind at RWE Renewables in a statement.

The companies said that the"H2opZee"  project aims to build 300-500 megawatts (MW) electrolyser capacity in the North Sea to produce green hydrogen using offshore wind.This hydrogen will be transported using a  pipeline that has a capacity of 10-12 gigawatts (GW).

The intention is to begin the feasibility study in the second quarter of 2022. The project is an initiative of TKI Wind op Zee, an initiative supported by the Dutch government bringing people, knowledge and financing together to support the offshore energy transition.

“This infrastructure is technically suitable, no new pipeline at sea is needed and no new landfall is required through the coastal area. With the PosHYdon pilot we are one of the leaders in this field of offshore energy system integration and reuse. The lessons learned from this project apply to H2opZee,” said Neptune Energy’s Managing Director in the Netherlands, Lex de Groot,

The companies said that H2opZee consists of two phases; a feasibility study and then an implementation phase