Accelerating cross-border cooperation on hydrogen infrastructure: North Rhine Westphalia – The Netherlands

The existing energy supply relationship between industrial consumers in North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW), Dutch seaports and other supply chain partners is an important basis for the acceleration of green hydrogen supply chains between the Netherlands and NRW.

Following the success of the Netherlands Hydrogen Accelerator Workshop in October 2022 in June 2023 HCSS facilitated a similar workshop on hydrogen infrastructure cooperation between the Netherlands and North Rhine Westphalia. This event was hosted by the Dutch association of tank storage companies (VOTOB) and the German independent tank storage association (UTV). Various stakeholders of the current and potential future hydrogen supply chains between NRW and Dutch seaports came together to share information, align efforts as well as discuss necessary changes and developments to accelerate investments in specific infrastructure projects.

The workshop utilised bespoke 3D models of the different supply chains and a large-scale map of the Netherlands and North-Rhine Westphalia. We used 3D models to plot the types of infrastructure necessary to complete hydrogen value chains between supply centres in the Netherlands and industrial consumers in NRW: ships, offshore wind turbines, electrolysers, storage units, cables and pipelines.

The workshop highlighted several key measures that need to be taken to improve cross-border green hydrogen supply chains, including; closer policy alignment between the governments of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands, aligning infrastructure projects across borders and more clarity about planning, licensing and off-take.

The attached fact-sheet and video highlight the results of the workshop in the form of key measures that can be taken to accelerate the development of cross-border green hydrogen supply chains.

Factsheet authors: Irina Patrahau and Laura Elisa Niemann .

Watch the video Hydrogen Accelerator Workshop North Rhine Westphalia – The Netherlands below. This video was created by PR and Communications Assistant Alessandra Barrow with a voice over from Assistant Analyst Laura Elisa Niemann.