The new cabinet plans for hydrogen are in accordance with the aspirations of Shell, the world’s largest oil business. Shell’s persistent lobbying, aided by the province of Groningen, appears to have worked off.
Shell supports the minister’s objectives
Minister Rob Jetten wants to see whether he can compel the businesses to buy environmentally friendly hydrogen. These benefits market participants since the obligation guarantee a market for hydrogen. Shell campaigned hard for this in the NortH2 project, which is directly linked to the region of Groningen.
According to documents published by the province of Groningen under the Open Government Act, Shell, the province of Groningen, and Gasunie worked closely together to develop this lobbying campaign. It may be deduced from this that in 2019 and 2020, the province, Gasunie, and Shell agreed on a lobbying approach, with Shell opting to bring its position as a market party to the notice of then-minister Eric Wiebes. Nienke Homan (GroenLinks), then a deputy, was tasked with editing GroenLinks and the PvdA’s parliamentary groupings.
Coalition accord on hydrogen
Shell paid a visit to Jetten, then the chairman of the D66 party, to learn more about NortH2, a big wind farm planned for the Wadden Sea that would generate 4 gigawatts of sustainable electricity by 2030 for the manufacture of green hydrogen.
According to the documents, the province, Gasunie, and Shell have developed a variety of lobbying goals. One of these goals is for the coalition agreement to include the upscaling of hydrogen production and imports. That was effective. The consortium is also lobbying top authorities at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate for tax breaks to make costly hydrogen manufacturing economical. Stimulation measures generate a sales market, which is required to profit from hydrogen production.
Create (sectoral) incentives for the use of hydrogen, (…) that result in a ‘level playing field’ for industry, and introduce incentives for end-users to transition to green hydrogen, for example, sectoral objectives,’ according to the ‘Essential policy’ section of the presentation.
Shell’s sales market is aided by the Minister
Minister Jetten’s vision, which he unveiled on Thursday, heavily emphasizes these “sectoral goals.” The word refers to the setting of objectives for the use of hydrogen in various sectors, such as industry and transportation. The cabinet assures Shell of a sales market by making certain aims essential.
Although Jetten’s ideas are not complete, they are currently open to the public for review. Shell, which aspires to be the most significant participant in the (green) hydrogen economy, will benefit from the minister’s objective.
