Hydrogen project H2 Hollandia in Nieuw-Buinen will receive a subsidy of one million euros from the province of Drenthe for the construction of an electrolyser. This allows green hydrogen to be made with electricity from the solar park that is already there. This electrolyser can produce three hundred tons of green hydrogen per year.
The H2 Hollandia project includes contractor Avitec, Novar and Solarfields. It is one of the first Dutch commercial projects of this size that has already reached such an advanced stage in the development process of the electrolyser, the initiators write.
The total construction of the electrolyser and associated systems costs 13.75 million euros. In addition to the initiators Avitec (Drenthe) and Novar (Groningen), other northern companies are also involved in building the electrolyser. The ‘hydrogen maker’ must be operational in 2026.
“The timely availability of sufficient, affordable and green hydrogen is very important for the long-term maintenance and growth of economic activity and employment in Drenthe,” Henk Jumelet, deputy of Energy, wrote to the Provincial Council.
The process of making green hydrogen requires a lot of electricity. This comes from the flow fields that used to be part of the wastewater treatment plant of the former Hollandia potato starch factory (later Avebe). The Hollandia solar park was built on this. It is one of the largest solar fields in the country with 288,278 solar panels. These provide a peak power of 115.30 megawatts peak per year, enough to supply more than 35,000 households with green steam at the same time.
According to deputy Henk Jumelet, it is important that Drenthe participates in hydrogen initiatives. “Drenthe, together with the provinces of Groningen and Fryslân, is the first Hydrogen Valley (large hydrogen area) in Europe. We are expanding the pioneering role that we as a province have in accelerating the hydrogen chain. We do this by supporting the development of the hydrogen system, to encourage and facilitate projects where necessary. The province of Drenthe is committed to the entire hydrogen chain: hydrogen production, transport and storage of hydrogen and application of hydrogen in industry, mobility and the built environment,” says deputy Henk Jumelet.