Belgium plans to build green hydrogen facility in port of Zeebrugge

European hydrogen ambitions have received a push after a consortium of Belgium’s companies’ disclosed about the plans to build a green hydrogen production facility in the port of Zeebrugge.

Belgian consortium Hyoffwind said that it had signed an agreement with John Cockerill & BESIX to design and build a power-to-gas facility that can convert renewable electricity into green hydrogen.

The Hyoffwind project is being processed by a consortium consisting of Virya Energy, specializing in generating and selling renewable energy and pipeline operator Fluxys.

Alongside, the first phase of the planned green hydrogen project will consist of a facility that can convert 25 Megawatt of electricity into green hydrogen. The consortium plans to scale up to 100 MW in the second phase.

According to CEO of Virya Energy, Paul Tummers, “With Hyoffwind, we are stepping on to the next stage in the transition towards more fit for purpose green energy sources by enabling the start of a green hydrogen supply chain. The availability of clean hydrogen is set to decarbonize industries such as transport and logistics further.”

The plan to build the green hydrogen facility at the port of Zeebrugge – which is in the process of finalizing a merger with the port of Antwerp- forms of part of Europe’s hydrogen strategy. The European Commission wants to make the EU a pioneer in the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier.

The project, combined with the development of hydrogen infrastructure, will significantly contribute to the Flemish, Belgian and European hydrogen strategy by taking a first step towards developing Flanders and Belgium as a European green hydrogen hub. Belgium wants to become a European-wide hydrogen backbone’s import and transit hub.

In its hydrogen strategy, the EU prioritizes green hydrogen produced from renewable electricity. The strategy is aiming to increase green hydrogen production to one million tonnes by 2024 and 10 million tonnes by 2030. Green hydrogen is considered an essential building block for a renewable energy economy. It can be used as a raw material for industrial processes and various transport applications.