Partnership to Develop a Large-Scale Hydrogen-Based Value

The three enterprises ENGIE, OCI and EEW intend to realize a large-scale industrial value chain in Europe for the production of e-methanol.

In May this year, ENGIE (the global point of reference in renewable hydrogen, low-carbon energy and services), OCI (Europe’s largest methanol producer), and EEW (a leading company in the production of electricity and heat from the thermal recovery of waste), announced their collaboration with the ambition to deploy the HyNetherlands (HyNL) project. The firms reported that HyNetherlands aims “to develop, build, and operate one of the first large-scale industrial value chains in Europe for the production of e-methanol by combining renewable hydrogen and biogenic CO2 in the North of the Netherlands (Groningen province)“. Hydrogen and e-methanol were sustainable and high-performing energy carriers that would match the characteristics of their fossil counterparts: They have high energy density, they are easy to bunker and transport, and they use existing assets and infrastructure.

The first phase of the project will consist of a new 100 MW electrolyser facility that will produce hydrogen for e-methanol production and deliver renewable-based hydrogen to the local mobility and industry sectors, the companies said in a joint press release. The project will connect individual industrial sites at three different locations:

• The ENGIE hydrogen production site will be located on the site of the Eems power plant in Eemshaven. The 100 MW electrolyser will be powered by 200 MW capacity of offshore wind turbines.
• The EEW carbon capture plant will be integrated with the existing waste-to-energy plant in Farmsum. It will capture biogenic CO2 from the flue gases of the plant’s production lines. CO2 logistics and infrastructure will intentionally be provided by Groningen Seaports.
• OCI’s BioMCN methanol facility, located in the Delfzijl chemical park in Farmsum, has the capacity to combine hydrogen and biogenic CO2 to produce e-methanol.
• The plants of ENGIE (production) and OCI/BioMCN (offtake) will be connected to the hydrogen network that Gasunie is developing throughout the Netherlands and Northern Germany. The vast majority of the national network for hydrogen will consist of pipelines currently used for natural gas transportation.

Source: ENGIE Energie Nederland

“Obtaining the necessary financial support and government approvals for the project are key priorities,” the companies gave account. “To this end, the project has already applied for grants from the European authorities (Innovation Fund).”

The long-term vision is for HyNL to play an increasingly important role in the decarbonization of industrial and transportation sectors in the region, with plans to scale up electrolyser production capacity from 100MW in 2025 to 1.85 GW in the early 2030s.

www.engie.com
www.oci.nl
www.eew-energyfromwaste.com

(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 3/2022, Page 10, Source: ENGIE Energie Nederland)