Neptune Energy has joined the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance, supporting the development of the EU’s hydrogen strategy.

The alliance was launched last week, bringing together industry, public authorities and civil society. It is part of the EU's strategy to support efforts for Europe to become carbon neutral by 2050.

The Netherlands is particularly well-positioned to lead the transition to a hydrogen economy, given the abundance of wind energy and existing infrastructure at sea and on land for the transport of gas and hydrogen molecules. With Neptune’s PosHYdon project, electricity generated by offshore wind turbines will be used to power a hydrogen plant on the Neptune-operated Q13a platform, converting seawater into demineralized water, then into hydrogen via electrolysis.

Lex de Groot, Managing Director of Neptune Energy in the Netherlands, said: “There is a growing consensus internationally that hydrogen will be required at scale in order for countries to meet the ambitious targets set out by the Paris Agreement.

“Hydrogen offers a solution to lower emissions in many hard-to-abate sectors, such as steel and heavy-duty transport. It can provide long-term energy storage at scale, support improvements in air quality and strengthen energy security.

“We believe hydrogen should play an important role in enabling decarbonization and are already advancing efforts through our PosHYdon pilot, the world’s first offshore green hydrogen project. We see strong, positive opportunities for hydrogen to play an important role in future energy supply.”