- The Dutch government is planning to create a hydrogen exchange market to support its energy transition.
This emerges from a report published at the beginning of the month by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and written by Bert den Ouden, former director of the Dutch Energy Exchange. “The report states that the Netherlands has a good starting position for creating such a market exchange,” said minister Eric Wiebes. “Initially, we are planning to create local trading points, a system for guarantees of [origin], and a hydrogen price index.“
According to Wiebes, these first steps can be a catalyst in the construction phase of the market and a base for economic optimization when the hydrogen market has reached maturity. A consortium of Dutch parties will be involved in the creation of the hydrogen market. “This initiative ties in well with the Dutch ambition to become a European hydrogen hub,” he added.
The Dutch consortium will include Dutch gas infrastructure company Gasunie and the Port of Rotterdam, which are already implementing hydrogen-related projects.
In the report, Den Ouden states that it will take six to ten years to realize the necessary hydrogen infrastructure and also to develop sufficient green hydrogen production. “The hydrogen exchange market must therefore be built up in stages, whereby the exchange grows with the market,” he said, adding that it is expected to sit at a midway point between the electricity and gas markets, in terms of volatility and time dynamics.
In late September, Portuguese and Dutch government ministers signed a memorandum of understanding to connect their respective 2030 green hydrogen plans. The two governments want to connect Portugal’s hydrogen project at Sines and Europe’s largest seaport, in Rotterdam, as well as developing a strategic export-import value chain to ensure the production and transport of green hydrogen to the Netherlands and its hinterland
Author: Emiliano Bellini
This article was originally published in pv magazine and is republished with permission.
