Offshore hydrogen production
Are you considering a move into offshore hydrogen production? Demonstration projects provide insight into and experience with this offshore technology. This page outlines our plans for these demonstration projects.
Why do demonstration projects matter?
The Netherlands is committed to developing large-scale offshore wind energy. This supports the Dutch climate targets and the transition to a renewable energy system (in terms of energy use and generation). We regard offshore hydrogen production as a key step in the long-term integration of renewable electricity from offshore wind farms into our energy system.
We aim to build experience through offshore demonstration projects, working in partnership with developers, grid operators, suppliers and other stakeholders. This helps to mitigate risks and develop projects at minimal cost.
What plans are in place?
Two hydrogen demonstration projects will be launched. These demonstration projects involve the construction of an offshore electrolyser (hydrogen production plant).
- Project 1 features an electrolyser with a capacity of around 20 to 50 megawatts.
- Project 2 features an electrolyser with a capacity of around 500 megawatts.
The government has disclosed the preferred sites for the two hydrogen demonstration projects.
- Project 1's site is in or near the Hollandse Kust (noord) wind farm.
- Project 2's preferred site is a wind farm to be developed at Ten noorden van de Waddeneilanden I.
Are you interested in carrying out the first demonstration project?
A single consortium of collaborating parties will be selected to deliver Demonstration Project 1. The selected consortium will be awarded a subsidy. Project proposals can be submitted through a call for proposals.
Result of the online consultation
The online consultation on this call for proposals was open until 26 January 2025. It is clear from the responses that the timeline for the call was too ambitious.
The responses indicated that extra time will be needed to establish a consortium and develop a project proposal.
The responses also included several questions. To address these questions properly, we need more time to finalise the call for proposals.
As a result, the publication and closing date of the call for proposals will be pushed back by a few months. The exact dates are yet to be determined. The anonymised responses are published in a report on this online consultation (in Dutch) and can be extracted from the Rijksoverheid.nl website.
Call for proposals
When the call for proposals is launched, you will have the opportunity to submit a detailed project proposal covering the preparation, construction and use of Demonstration Project 1. Your proposal should specify how it meets the criteria and supports the project’s learning objectives.
This call will most likely remain open for three months. After that, we will review the proposals together with a panel of experts and select the winning consortium. Together with the Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth and the winning consortium, we will initiate a process designed to deliver a tailored subsidy (in Dutch).
Study into offshore hydrogen production
A research programme into offshore hydrogen production will also be launched, in collaboration with the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). This will run concurrently with the existing pilots and other demonstration projects for offshore hydrogen production. Any knowledge acquired by Demonstration Project 1 will be shared with this research programme as part of a strong collaborative effort.
Learning objectives targeted by the demonstration projects
The following documents present 5 themes, complete with learning objectives, for the offshore hydrogen production demonstration projects. We included these learning objectives in the survey of interest.
Results from the survey of interest
In early 2024, we conducted a survey of interest regarding the first offshore hydrogen demonstration project. Many respondents expressed a desire to be involved with offshore hydrogen, either now or in the future. Among the 56 respondents, 41 parties expressed a wish to be actively involved, and 10 are yet to make a decision. 5 parties have stated that they do not wish to be involved in Project 1. A summary of the results is available.
- Read about the results (KNOP NOG MAKEN)
Want to know more?
- Ministry of Climate Policy and Green Growth
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