Duwaal

Working on a green hydrogen economy in the northwest of the Netherlands

The Duwaal project is working on both the supply of and demand for hydrogen in the province of Noord-Holland in order to develop a green hydrogen economy. Duwaal includes integrated hydrogen production powered by a wind turbine, high-pressure storage and transport by road to at least five refuelling locations, and the procurement and management of 100 hydrogen-powered lorries. By creating the whole hydrogen chain in one go, ‘from wind to wheel’, we can resolve the ‘chicken-or-egg’ dilemma and create a reasonable scale and volume. It enables financing across the whole chain, gives future hydrogen projects a place to latch onto, and creates advantages of scale and volume. Ultimately, the goal of consortium member HYGRO is to create a nationwide network of hydrogen-production locations at wind and solar installations, along with hub and satellite hydrogen refuelling stations across the Netherlands. 

‘From wind to wheel’

Duwaal is aiming to tackle supply and demand simultaneously in the northwest of the Netherlands. The name of the project reflects this: ‘Duwaal’ is based on the word ‘dual’. In order to implement the hydrogen economy smoothly, it is vital to tackle supply and demand simultaneously and to provide a supportive framework. The initiatives within ‘From wind to wheel’ involve:

• Integrated hydrogen production by a wind turbine.
• An integrated system for high-pressure storage, transport, and distribution by road with at least five hydrogen refuelling locations.
• Collective purchasing and management of 100 hydrogen-powered lorries.

Future hydrogen-production projects (involving biomass, for example) and other hydrogen-purchasing projects can link up with the integrated transport and distribution system, thereby benefiting from its scale and volume. Scale and volume are what give us the opportunity to reduce costs here. Ultimately, the programme will include a network of pipelines that will enable hydrogen to be distributed even more cost-effectively and enable urban areas to be supplied with green hydrogen.

Details of the project

• In the Wieringermeer polder, HYGRO is building a wind turbine with an integrated electrolyser for the production of hydrogen:
  • ENERCON 4 MW wind turbine;
  • 5 MW electrolysis system;
• Interchangeable and scalable 1000 bar storage and distribution system;
• Public refuelling locations, the first location will be:
  • NXT Boekelermeer (Alkmaar);
  • AVIA and HYGRO have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to create a hub refuelling station at the AVIA location in Wieringerwef on the A7 motorway for refuelling at 350 and 700 bar;
  • In the LOI, AVIA also expresses its intention to create four more satellite refuelling stations with HYGRO for 350 bar and 700 bar applications.

The sustainably produced hydrogen will be used by fuel-cell electric lorries, vans or other hydrogen-electric applications such as aggregates on construction sites. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, this will also reduce noise, NOx, and particulate matter emissions. The project provides a glimpse into the energy infrastructure of the future.

Consortium

The Duwaal consortium is made up of HYGRO, AVIA, and TNO and is supported by the New Energy Coalition and the Noord-Holland Noord Development Company

Grant

The Duwaal project is being realised in part thanks to the DEI+ grant. 

‘This funding is enabling us to demonstrate that “From wind to wheel” using hydrogen can be both efficient and cost-effective within a reasonable period of time. It also shows that the government is taking this form of hydrogen application seriously, which will hopefully lead to more consistent regulation and policies in this area, too. We look forward to continuing to cooperate with the government to highlight the potential of this hydrogen route.’ 

Jan Willem Langeraar, HYGRO Energy