(Rotterdam / Netherlands) – Hynetwork Services BV has completed a 32-kilometer long-distance gas pipeline in Rotterdam. The pipeline is the “first section of the Netherlands’ future national hydrogen network” and the foundation for a future connection between the port and Germany, Belgium, and the rest of the Netherlands, the company announced.
Final welds on the new hydrogen pipeline completed in Rotterdam. © Gasunie
Construction began in April 2024 in the port area. The route ran through a series of roads, railways, waterways, and "hundreds of existing pipes and cables," all of which had to remain in operation. At the same time, construction was underway on the "Porthos" CO2 network. "Over a length of approximately 14 kilometers, the two pipelines are only 40 centimeters apart," according to Hynetwork, a subsidiary of the Dutch state-owned gas company Gasunie NV. The working hours constantly influenced each other. The contractor was the Dutch engineering service provider Hanab Pipelines & Industry. After an extensive test phase, commissioning is scheduled for April 2026. According to previous announcements, the infrastructure is to be available in industrial clusters along the Dutch coast by 2030.
First connection to the Shell Chemical Park
The current section of the route connects, among other things, the port with the Pernis industrial area. There, the oil company Shell plans to use green hydrogen in its Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam factory complex. This hydrogen will be produced in the future at the "Holland Hydrogen I" production plant on the Maasvlakte 2 conversion area using offshore wind power.
The final section of the pipe bears the signatures of everyone involved in the construction – and then disappears underground. © Hynetwork
The plant, announced by Shell in 2022, includes a 200-megawatt electrolyzer designed to produce up to 60.000 kilograms of renewable hydrogen per day. Shell is not the only company with access to the new pipeline. A valve system provides connections for injecting and withdrawing hydrogen, as well as branches for connecting additional pipelines. Furthermore, several other companies are already involved in hydrogen projects at Maasvlakte . The port is positioning itself as a hub for green fuels and a transshipment point for hydrogen.
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The first section of the Dutch hydrogen network is complete: Two construction workers immortalize themselves on the last pipe inserted in the pipeline. © Hynetwork
