Offshore hydrogen production

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.

You could participate in an internet consultation on the call for proposals for demonstration project 1 until 26 January 2025. It is clear from the responses that the timeline for the call was too ambitious. The anonymised responses are published in a report on this online consultation (in Dutch) and can be extracted from the Rijksoverheid.nl website.

Offshore hydrogen demonstration projects planning

We are postponing the call for proposals for this project until after the summer of 2025. This is because offshore hydrogen is developing differently than expected. The same applies to the construction of offshore wind farms. This means, among other things, that we are re-examining whether the planning for demonstration project 1 is realistic. According to the current planning, the project should be ready in 2031.

The planning of the call for proposals may also change. The exact dates on which the call opens and closes are yet to be determined. The planning of demonstration project 1 will be announced after the summer.

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. The demonstration projects can use the results of this research programme.

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?

• Letter to Parliament on the Offshore Wind Energy Roadmap and offshore hydrogen demonstration project 1 (in Dutch)
• Knowpledge platform offshore hydrogen production: Hydrogen empowering revolutionary offshore wind (HEROW)