The development of green hydrogen is in full swing. In the Netherlands alone, there are hundreds of pilot projects, FEED studies and small-scale projects for the production and transport of hydrogen. Larger hydrogen projects are also underway. Engineers have been given a huge role to play in this development, and that includes us.
In the last few years, Iv has been preparing for the 'breakthrough' of green hydrogen through pioneering projects such as PosHYdon, an initiative of the national platform Nexstep and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). It is the world's first project to test offshore hydrogen production and transport on an existing platform. Iv provided the engineering and system integration for the necessary adjustments to the current platform for the production of hydrogen at sea. For this purpose, an electrolysis system that injects hydrogen into the existing gas export pipeline will be installed. Furthermore, Iv is a knowledge partner within the North Sea Energy research programme for which Iv, as part of 'Offshore energy hubs', has developed a 500 MW platform for green hydrogen.
'There is much to come'
Iv continues to develop and orientate its approach across the entire breadth of the organisation because hydrogen will undoubtedly play a significant role, according to Fedor van Veen, Managing Director of Iv-Offshore & Energy. "There is much to come. In addition to the projects mentioned, we are also exploring the import of hydrogen carriers, such as ammonia. Together with Escher, we are in the process of developing, among others, a solution that uses ammonia, but also solutions for CO2 capture."
For many years, we have been working on and gathering knowledge about the possibilities of hydrogen production and the transport thereof. For Iv, this learning curve started a long time ago. Fedor: "And we still learn something new every day. Everything we have learned and developed so far helps us prepare for the actual production. We are increasingly delving into the details of the concepts to refine and improve them."
Modular design
It is not surprising that hydrogen has been on the political and business agenda for a long time, given its potential and impact on the world. Nor is it surprising that it needs time to materialise, says Fedor. "Take wind energy. There are still great strides being made in that, but overall, the development is decades ahead of hydrogen. We want it to go fast. The technology is there, but scaling up will take years. That is why we are also exploring modular design, where we start with a solid base and a relatively small capacity of 100 MW and expand modularly to more than 500 MW."
Efficient transport is vital to getting green hydrogen on land and into the (small-scale) industrial sector. Iv is also active in this. Escher has developed a technology for the decentralised production of green hydrogen from ammonia. Ammonia is an excellent carrier of hydrogen that can be produced anywhere worldwide simply by extracting nitrogen from the air. Escher's technology separates the ammonia back into hydrogen and nitrogen, facilitating further separation into almost pure hydrogen and nitrogen. Producing hydrogen locally in this way costs only a fraction of the energy compared to conventional local hydrogen production with electrolysis. The process is, therefore, much less of a burden on the electricity grid.
Need for a market
Commercial Manager Maarten Brandenburg is carefully observing a shift in the hydrogen market. "Many factors need to coincide to bring production and supply together. Logistically, this is quite a puzzle, which is why decentralised production of green hydrogen offers a solution. Transporting hydrogen as gas from large factories is complicated and less sustainable." More specifically, a 'market' such as the one that has existed for decades for conventional fuels is still lacking. "That has yet to happen. But I also see an increasing number of companies willing to take the plunge."
As previously outlined, Iv is active in the field of hydrogen across the entire breadth of the organisation. Simply because it goes way beyond production and the logistical challenges. Possibilities for hydrogen are being examined within various chains. In the field of water, for example, what can be done with the oxygen released and whether it can be captured by electrolysis and used to feed bacteria is being investigated.
'We need each other'
This is one example of many developments. Erik Vegt is leading the way on behalf of Iv in the field of climate: how can we, as an engineering company, contribute to greater sustainability and the fight against climate change? "The challenges are so far-reaching that we cannot do this separately from a single division of Iv. We need each other," he says. "That is why we are constantly reviewing the full breadth of our company. There are also plenty of opportunities in the industrial sector and in infrastructure (transport, ed.). A future in green hydrogen requires an integral approach."
Erik also sees a bright future in hydrogen. "More and more projects are being launched, often in pilot phases and FEED studies. But larger projects are also getting underway. We can and want to play our part in this. We like nothing more than solving complex puzzles. We are committed to contributing to a future-proof world, especially when it is of great importance to society."