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Hydrogen: sustainable energy for your company

This information is provided by:Netherlands Enterprise Agency RVONetherlands Enterprise Agency RVONederlandse versie

The Netherlands is working on a future with sustainable energy. Our country must be climate neutral by 2050. The government wants to use hydrogen for this, among other things. Read about the possibilities of hydrogen and which subsidies and schemes there are.

What is hydrogen?

Hydrogen (chemical abbreviation: H2) is an odourless and colourless gas that does not occur in nature. It is an energy carrier that must be produced made. The way it is made determines how sustainable hydrogen is. It has been agreed in the Climate Agreement (Klimaatakkoord) that the Netherlands must become more sustainable. Hydrogen could help to achieve that goal.

Difference between grey, blue and green hydrogen

The industry has been producing and using hydrogen for a long time. This is ‘grey’ hydrogen. It is made with fossil fuels. This production releases CO2. The government now wants to make the production of hydrogen more sustainable by:

  • capturing and storing CO2 that is released during the production of hydrogen with fossil fuels. This is called blue hydrogen.
  • making hydrogen with sustainable electricity, such as solar and wind energy, where no CO2 is released. This is called green hydrogen.

The intention is to use more and more blue and green hydrogen. As a raw material for industry and as a sustainable fuel. Watch the video about hydrogen (in Dutch, no English subtitles available) and read more about hydrogen in the Climate Agreement.

Possibilities for using hydrogen

The government wants to further develop the production and use of sustainable hydrogen. Hydrogen has various applications:

Do you want to know more about the possibilities of sustainable hydrogen? View the case studies (in Dutch) on the website of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO). Or search the database of the Top Sector Energy for innovative hydrogen projects (in Dutch).

Subsidies and financing for hydrogen

The government encourages research into the possibilities of sustainable hydrogen and the expansion of production. Funds are available for this purpose. Check with RVO which subsidies and schemes (in Dutch) are available for your hydrogen project. There are also other (tax) schemes and European programmes.

Safety and hydrogen

Industrial companies have a great deal of knowledge about the safety of hydrogen. They have been using it on a large scale for some time now. But outside industrial area's, the use of hydrogen is still fairly new. That is why various parties are working together on a Hydrogen Safety Innovation Programme. This programme should provide clear rules and regulations. For example, for parking hydrogen cars in parking garages.

Do you want to start a hydrogen project? Read the Guidelines for safe handling of hydrogen (in Dutch). These are temporary rules for safety in situations where there is no legislation yet. Also, view the 3 fact sheets on the safety of hydrogen (in Dutch) from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.

Hydrogen: working together

Do you want to collaborate with other companies on hydrogen projects? There are several network organisations:

Top Sector Energy

TKI New Gas (in Dutch) is a Top Consortium (collaboration) for knowledge and innovation within the Dutch Top Sector Energy (in Dutch). It is a network organisation with participants from the gas and industry sector, knowledge institutions and governments.

International

Hydrogen also offers international opportunities for companies (in Dutch). The International Clean Energy Partnership (ICEP) is committed to promoting the Dutch hydrogen sector abroad. You can also join the Platform Hydrogen International (PWI, in Dutch).

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