Shell secures temporary grid link for Rotterdam electrolyser/hydrogen project; pulls out of Norwegian blue hydrogen project

Oil firm Shell and Tennet have signed a connection and transport agreement to connect the first large-scale hydrogen plant to the high-voltage grid. Shell’s Holland Hydrogen 1 will be a 200-megawatt (MW) electrolyser on the Maasvlakte.

In the coming years, the electrolyser will initially be connected to the Maasvlakte 380 kV high-voltage substation via a temporary connection. Once the Amaliahaven 380 kV high-voltage substation is taken into commission, Shell will get a permanent and complete connection to the high-voltage grid. This enables Tennet to meet Shell’s wish to realise a connection promptly.

Shell is constructing the first major plant for renewable hydrogen in Europe, with a capacity of 200 MW. The plant will arise behind the dunes on the Dutch coast, on Maasvlakte 2. Holland Hydrogen 1 will help the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam (Pernis) among others, to become more sustainable. A special hydrogen pipeline connects the hydrogen plant to the port of Rotterdam.

Tennet does not have enough space on the existing high-voltage substations to connect the hydrogen plant. A new 380 kV high-voltage substation is therefore being constructed in the Amaliahaven at Maasvlakte 2. The substation is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Shell and Tennet have therefore devised a temporary solution, enabling Shell to have a temporary and limited connection to the Maasvlakte 380 kV high-voltage substation. Once the Amaliahaven high-voltage substation is taken into commission, Shell will be completely and permanently connected to the high-voltage grid.

Meanwhile, Shell says it has cancelled its plans for a major blue hydrogen project in Norway, citing a lack of demand for H2 produced from fossil gas with emissions captured and stored.

It has decided to cancel its blue hydrogen project, the Aukra Hydrogen Hub, due to a lack of demand. The company announced its decision days after Equinor ASA EQNR, a Norway-based state-owned energy company, cancelled a similar project.

Under the project, Shell along with its partners, Aker Horizons and CapeOmega, would have used natural gas from the company’s Nyhamna processing facility to produce about 1,200 tonnes/day of blue hydrogen by 2030. However, the decision to scrap the low-carbon hydrogen project was taken after analysing the feasibility of the project.

Blue hydrogen, which can be produced from natural gas using carbon capture and storage technology, would prove to be a milestone in decarbonising the European industry. However, the high costs and low demand, when compared to the traditional methods of producing grey hydrogen, make it impractical.

Equinor also scrapped its plans to build a pipeline to carry up to 10 gigawatts per annum of hydrogen from Norway to Germany. Both companies stated the same reasons of low demand, high production costs and inadequate regulatory framework to drop their respective projects.