Eneco has submitted its planning application for the construction of a green hydrogen production plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

The company will develop the ‘Eneco Electrolyser’ and is working together with Mitsubishi on the project through the Eneco Diamond Hydrogen joint venture.

The electrolyser will use renewable energy from solar parks and wind farms to produce clean hydrogen, expected to be initially aimed towards the industrial sector to replace natural gas.

It is anticipated to eventually have a capacity of 800MW, meaning it will be capable of producing 80 kilo tonnes of hydrogen every year, depending on the amount of renewable energy available and the demand for green hydrogen from the industrial sector.

Located at Rotterdam’s Europoort industrial area, the electrolyser will be developed next to the Enecogen power station, meaning the two facilities can share some infrastructure, offering cost advantages.

Eneco’s CEO, As Tempelman, said “When direct electrification is not possible, green hydrogen is a good and sustainable alternative, both as a raw material and as a fuel.

“Investing in green hydrogen is an important part of our strategy and it pleases me that we can now take concrete steps towards this.”

Eneco’s One Planet Plan aims to improve the sustainability of its industrial customers and transition them all to being carbon neutral by 2035. The planned electrolyser will support both these goals and the Netherlands and Europe’s targets to produce green hydrogen. The Netherlands intends to increase green hydrogen production capacity to 4GW by 2030.

Eneco hopes to be able to work towards building the electrolyser over the next few years, with construction scheduled to start in 2026 and the hydrogen plant will begin operations in 2029.