How big can a green hydrogen plant be?
The new factory will be much larger than any other factory ever built. More importantly, it will help patch some loopholes in Europe's energy independence plan, where Russian gas is still holding despite sanctions.
Nikkei Asia said the plant's expected capacity is 80,000 tons/year, nearly 30 times larger than the capacity of the world's largest facility in operation.
The current global economy is heavily dependent on hydrogen produced from gas, but the sharp decline in wind and solar energy costs has disrupted activities in the green hydrogen production sector.
According to Hydrogen Insight, the Kuqa power plant in Xinjiang, China, is described as the world's largest green hydrogen producer today.
The 260 MW plant began operations last summer with an initial output of 10,000 tons per year, expected to increase to 20,000 tons when it is fully operational.
EU expects Russian gas expansion
The new electrolyte plant is under the sponsorship of Eneco Diamond Hydrogen, a joint venture between Mistubishi and Eneco of the Netherlands. Known as the Eneco phanksome, the 800 MW project was originally aimed at reducing carbon for industries dependent on gas.
The plan is to deploy both wind and solar energy to maintain the operation of electrolytes.
As of November last year, Eneco was still in the process of submitting a planning registration application. If all goes according to plan, construction will begin in 2026 and is expected to be operational in 2029.
Eneco's "A plane Plan" sets a goal of climate neutrality by 2035 for both Eneco and its customers.
Enoco explained: In addition, the Netherlands and Europe have set a target of producing green hydrogen. For example, the Netherlands plans to increase green hydrogen production capacity to 4 gigawatt by 2030.
The EU hopes the new project will create more momentum for Europe to stop being completely dependent on Russian gas. Currently, although some countries have separated significantly from Russia in terms of energy, others - such as Hungary, Slovakia and Austria - are still dependent on Russian gas and unwilling to change for both political and economic reasons.
A complete elimination of Russian gas will be much more difficult to achieve in a divided EU where countries not only have very different energy needs but also have very different relations with the Kremlin.
For example, the pipeline system for Russian gas to Europe includes a transit corridor through Ukraine.
While Russian pipeline exports to the EU have declined since the Ukraine conflict, actual LNG exports have increased. The reason is quite simple: Sanctions on Russian gas do not yet include LNG.
According to environmental monitoring agency Global Witness, the EU's imports of Russian LNG, mainly via tankers, increased by 40% between January and July 2023 compared to pre-Ukrainian conflict levels.
Meanwhile, the barrier to the rapid use of green hydrogen is the much higher cost than gas. Therefore, it remains to be seen when and whether the Eneco phanksorp can compete directly with gas. From there, it is clear whether the plant will help the EU completely cut off from Russian gas.
