Knowledge Exchange Tour on Green Hydrogen to Brussels, Rotterdam and Hamburg

From 25 September to 2 October 2022 the Indo-German Energy Forum Support Office (IGEF-SO) organised a knowledge exchange tour on green hydrogen for high-ranking officials from India to Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Day 1 – 26.09.2022

During the first phase of the visit, the focus was on the EU's sustainability criteria for green hydrogen and what implications these have on India’s green hydrogen strategy. Mr. Tobias Winter, Director, IGEF-SO and Mr. Jan-Hendrik Scheyl, PtX-Hub, GIZ presented various aspects of sustainable green hydrogen production and consumption in Europe. Mr. Arthur Daemers, Policy Advisor, SolarPower Europe, gave an overview of European developments in green hydrogen from a solar industry perspective. The most promising green hydrogen policy measures were discussed by Mr. Raphael Hanoteaux, Policy Think Tank E3G.

The presentations were followed by a visit to the European Commission where participants discussed the issue of certification criteria of sustainable or green hydrogen further with Mr. Ruud Kempener, Team Leader – Hydrogen, Directorate-General for Energy, Mr. Florian Ermacora, Head of Unit for International Relations, Directorate-General for Energy, and Mr. Matthieu Craye, International Relations Officer, especially regarding the export of green hydrogen from India to the EU. The Directorate-General for Energy is responsible for the EU's energy policy, secure, sustainable, and competitively priced energy for Europe.

A different perspective was provided by Mr. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO Hydrogen Europe and Mr. Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director, Clean Hydrogen Partnership Europe. With these stakeholders the participants discussed the industry perspective on European market ramp-up and sustainability criteria as well as the research landscape for green hydrogen in Europe and funding by EU.

Day 2 – 27.09.2022

On Tuesday, 27 September, the group was welcomed by Mr. Han Feenstra, Senior Policy Officer, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Government of Netherlands and involved in the Indo-Dutch Green Hydrogen Partnership. He presented various measures undertaken by the central government to boost the Dutch green hydrogen economy.

With the largest seaport in Europe on its doorstep, Rotterdam is gaining increasing importance for the European and global hydrogen economy. The Port of Rotterdam is working towards the introduction of a large-scale hydrogen network across the port complex, making Rotterdam an international hub for hydrogen production, import, application and transport to other countries in Northwest Europe. Mr. Wilco van der Lans, H2 expert at Port of Rotterdam, outlined the future ambitions of the port in detail. A private sector perspective on Dutch green hydrogen market developments was provided by Mr. Jörg Gigler, Director TKI Nieuw Gas.

The presentations on the Dutch perspective on green hydrogen was followed by a tour through the Port of Rotterdam. The visit included a stop at ammonia terminals of Koole, OCI and Gunvor, the visit of offshore-wind transformer station for green hydrogen production and a stop at the “Conversion Park” development site including electrolyser projects by Shell, BP and Air Liquide. Lastly, the tour ended with an impression of SIF Offshore wind foundation manufacturing and storage site with impression on GE Haliade-X 14 MW wind turbine.

In the Netherlands, the group also visited the GZI Next site where Mr. René Jansen, General manager Decommissioning and Energy Hubs, Shell Netherlands, Mr. Harry Eshuis, Shell Netherlands and by Mr. Rene Schutte, Business Developer, Gasunie Netherlands presented the energy hub concept, which plans to repurpose existing natural gas infrastructure for green hydrogen and green fuels.

Discussion with Mr. Kempener, Mr. Ermacora, and Mr. Craye on EU’s sustainability criteria for green hydrogen.

Visit at the Directorate-General for Energy in Brussels.

Visit of green hydrogen projects at the Port of Rotterdam.

27.- 29. September 2022

From 27 – 29 September, the delegates attended the WindEnergy Hamburg 2022 and H2 Expo & Conference. A guided tour at the trade fair enabled the delegation to gain insights into the latest developments on the European green hydrogen and offshore wind market. During the conference, IGEF-SO organised presentations of the three hydrogen flagship projects by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), H2Mare, TransHyDe and H2Giga, which are an important contribution to establishing the German National Hydrogen Strategy. The projects were presented by Mr. Matthias Mueller, Siemens Energy, Mr. Jimmie Langham, CEO, cruh21, and Ms. Ulrike Möllmert, DECHEMA. Further, Mr. Emanuel Henrich, Project Manager, H2Global, gave insights into the H2Global mechanism, i.e. on international contracts of difference resulting from an auction-based mechanism to provide fixed green hydrogen volumes from third countries and secure minimum prices.

The day was concluded by a visit at the Competence Centre for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency (CC4E) and a presentation by Prof. Dr. Hans Schäfers, Professor for Intelligent Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency. The CC4E is a permanent scientific institution at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW Hamburg). It bundles the diverse activities and competences at the university and develops hands-on solutions.

Day 6 – 30.09.2022

On the last day, the group had the chance to gain a first-hand impression on the immense opportunities offshore wind energy bears through a boat trip to the 111 MW wind farm Nordergründe. The first monopile was set up 15 kilometres north-east of Wangerooge in the Weser estuary. The installation of the wind turbines was completed at the beginning of December 2016. The Nordergründe wind farm is only around 30 kilometres from the coast. TenneT has implemented a three-phase grid connection. The grid connection point for the Nordergründe offshore project is the Inhausen transformer station north of Wilhelmshaven, which was extended for this purpose in 2012. Under the name "Green Wilhelmshaven" the company Uniper plans to establish a German national hub for hydrogen in Wilhelmshaven with both local hydrogen production via electrolysis and import of hydrogen via ammonia and subsequent ammonia cracking.

After visiting the offshore wind farm, the group had the opportunity to see the latest developments onshore in Cuxhaven. Cuxhaven is a key port for offshore installations in the North Sea and has become of higher importance than Bremerhaven or any other specialized ports in whole Europe. It has become the largest offshore port of Europe. After around three years of construction, the world's largest factory for offshore wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy was officially inaugurated at the Cuxhaven site in 2018, marking another major milestone in the development of the German Offshore Industry Centre.

Visit at the WindEnergy Hamburg 2022 and H2 Expo & Conference with guided tour through the trade fair.

Visit at the CC4E with presentation by Prof. Dr. Schäfers.

Visit at the CC4E with presentation by Prof. Dr. Schäfers.

Visit at the CC4E with presentation by Prof. Dr. Schäfers.

Offshore Windpark Nordergründe.

Visit to the harbour of Cuxhaven.

Offshore Windpark Nordergründe.

IN