Green hydrogen will be produced in a factory in Delfzijl by the Amsterdam-based Torrgas using discarded wood and grass from the side of the road. Torrgas anticipates spending between 80 and 100 million euros on the new facility.
In a symbolic gesture, Groningen Seaports has already sunk a shovel into the ground on a plot of land that it has offered to Torrgas. But there are still a lot of obstacles to overcome, according to Sytze Hellinga of the Investment and Development Agency Northern Netherlands, NOM. The initial stage of the proposals is partially funded by NOM.
Erwin Eijmans, director of Torrgas, is seeking management for the hydrogen plant as the HyCarb project, as the construction of the plant was dubbed by Torrgas, is currently entering the period of applying for licenses. The design of the facility is also being made.
Within a few years, Torrgas expects to have realized the Delfzijl production site. Depending on the size of the factory, HyCarb might provide 25 employees if all the plans materialize.
Biocarbon and green hydrogen
In Delfzijl, Torrgas plans to produce hydrogen from so-called syngas. Torrefaction, a form of roasting, is used to create this. In this instance, waste wood is heated without being burned. This generates syngas that is made up of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The gas is further transformed into even more green hydrogen when combined with steam.
To a greater extent
The functionality of this technique has been shown to work on a smaller scale in test factories. On the Zernike Campus in Groningen, there is an installation in the hydrogen innovation center run by DNV GL. According to Hellinga of the NOM, “Now we want to go toward production on a wider scale.”
According to NOM, these green hydrogen production facilities are a welcome complement to the plans for electrolyzers, which create hydrogen from electricity and water. Electrolyzers are hard to come by, says Hellinga. “Choosing multiple paths for the greening we want is consequently useful.”
Hardly and quietly through
In the Netherlands, initiator Torrgas is engaged in numerous projects of a similar nature, one of which is at the Chemelot industrial park close to Geleen. Compared to Delfzijl, the plans are already a little further along there.
HyCarb’s director Erwin Eijmans declines to discuss the strategies, saying, “Let’s do something first. For the time being nothing has been accomplished. We will continue quietly and hard.”
