CORRECTED: Uniper considers Dutch 500MW green hydrogen plant

Correction: The deadline for the closure or conversion of Uniper’s Maasvlakte coal plant has been corrected. In addition, the 2025 coal plant closure deadline in the eighth paragraph referred to the UK and Germany.

• Feasibility study on green hydrogen plant at Maasvlakte

• Uniper to close or convert Maasvlakte coal plant by 2030

• Offshore wind to produce hydrogen

LONDON (ICIS)–German utility Uniper and the Port of Rotterdam are investigating the feasibility of building a 500MW green hydrogen plant at Maasvlakte in the Netherlands to start operations by 2025.

Uniper announced on 8 February a feasibility study to be completed by summer 2021.

The Maasvlakte site in Rotterdam hosts a 1,070MW coal power plant that Uniper plans to close or convert by 2030.

Reasons for selecting the Maasvlakte location include suitable infrastructure, presence of industrial customers and access to renewable energy production, in particular offshore wind.

MAASVLAKTE COAL PLANT

The Maasvlakte power station commissioned in 2016 operates with hard coal and wood pellets. The biomass co-firing percentage ramped up to 15% in 2020.

However, a full coal-to-biomass conversion of Maasvlakte might not be feasible, as the Dutch government decided in October 2020 to phase out biomass subsidies, following the recommendation of the advisory board.

The main argument was that sustainably produced biomass is too scarce to keep using it for heat or electricity production, for which other low carbon and renewable alternatives exist.

Uniper announced its plan  to close most coal-fired plants in Germany and the UK by 2025 and become carbon neutral in Europe with respect to power generation by 2035.

The Dutch National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) states that from 2030, the use of coal to generate electricity will be prohibited by law.

The Netherlands has two other coal-fired power stations in addition to Maasvlakte – the 645MW Amer and the 1,560MW Eemshaven plants, both owned by German utility RWE.

DUTCH MIX OUTLOOK

Given the rapid deployment of offshore wind capacity, Uniper expects hydrogen to be produced with energy from wind farms in the North Sea.

Dutch transmission system operator (TSO) TenneT is expanding offshore grid connections to link the wind farms to the onshore grid in the mainland.

ICIS analysts forecast offshore wind to increase from 2GW in 2021 to 11GW in 2030, which would be the fastest growing generation source in the Dutch mix.

The share of offshore wind in domestic power production is forecast to climb from 8% in 2021 to 34% in 2030, according to ICIS analysts.

ICIS analytics showed that the 4GW coal capacity in 2021 will generate 19% of domestic production, then progressively decline to 0% in 2030.

FEASIBILITY STUDY

The objectives of the feasibility study on the hydrogen plant include:

– Develop the design and technical dimensions

– Explore the market potential for green hydrogen in the Rotterdam port area

– Explore options for hydrogen import, export and storage at Maasvlakte.

To produce green hydrogen, renewable energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis.

By Daisy De Selliers