Australia deepen ties with Netherlands on green hydrogen

The federal government continues to support green hydrogen exports and signs a new memorandum of understanding signed with the Dutch government on Monday.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen signed a memorandum of understanding with Dutch Climate and Energy Minister Rob Jetten to promote clean energy green hydrogen supply chains between the two countries.

The Netherlands’ Minister of Climate and Energy, Rob Jetten, and Australia’s Minister of Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen. Image: LinkedIn

The broad MoU was signed at the Port of Rotterdam and covers:

Hydrogen trade policy, standards and certification schemes Port infrastructure and supply chain development Innovative hydrogen technologies, including shipping, equipment and services Government policy on safety, social license and regulations for hydrogen

MoUs have already been signed between the Port of Rotterdam and the state governments of Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. It also aims to develop a hydrogen export supply chain from Australia to the Netherlands.

A South Australian pre-feasibility study completed at the end of 2021 estimated that the state could “meet up to 10 percent of Rotterdam’s hydrogen needs in 2050”, which at the time was estimated to reach 18 million.

The port wants to import 20 million tonnes of hydrogen annually by 2050, and aims to start importing ammonia from 2025.

The Dutch seaport is also a critical part of Australia’s planned supply from Germany.

A joint study on the feasibility of the hydrogen supply chain, HySupply, released its final report on Friday, which according to Mr. Bowen shows that exporting green hydrogen is “both feasible and desirable”.

The study notes that the Port of Rotterdam “strengthens its position as the largest energy import hub for Germany with exports to Germany to be facilitated by the proposed Delta Corridor”.

The corridor is a hydrogen and carbon dioxide pipeline infrastructure project connecting several industrial hubs between the Netherlands and Germany.

From November 2021, approximately 13 percent of the total energy demand of the European Union first enters the jurisdiction through the Port of Rotterdam.

According to HySupply, the port of Rotterdam is currently the largest hub for methanol imports and “has announced plans for five ammonia terminals, two liquid organic hydrogen carrier terminals and one liquid hydrogen terminal”.

The signing of the MoU with the Netherlands is part of Mr Bowen’s 10-day trip through Europe and to the United Arab Emirates. On Tuesday, he will deliver only a personal speech to the Center for European Policy Studies in Brussels.

Mr. Bowen was in Germany on Friday to announce the successful recipients of the collaborative hydrogen grant program HyGATE and to launch the final HySupply report.

Minister Bowen said the agreement reiterated Australia’s commitment to working with international partners to advance clean energy interests.

“Hydrogen is a critical technology for the changing global economy and working with countries like the Netherlands will help Australia realize job and investment opportunities from this new industry, and deliver energy security and emissions reductions for trading partners,” Mr Bowen said. .

Consultation on the federal government’s Hydrogen Guarantee of Origin scheme, which will certify whether hydrogen has been produced with renewable energy, will close on 3 February.

From the private sector, Fortescue Future Industries has signed an MoU with German utility E.ON to work towards exporting five million tonnes of green hydrogen to Europe by 2030.

Do you know more? Contact James Riley by email.