Greenport Noord-Holland Noord, Development Company Noord-Holland Noord and New Energy Coalition, together with agricultural entrepreneurs and various other stakeholders, have set up a field lab for hydrogen applications in the agricultural sector. The ‘Hydrogen in Agri’ Field Lab is to become the practical environment where companies, knowledge institutions and local governments work together on hydrogen applications and infrastructure.
Project of strategic importance
The festive launch of the Hydrogen in Agri Field Lab was hosted on Thursday 6 July at Rainbow Colors in Andijk, one of the participants and field lab locations in the ERDF project. During an informative programme, we commented on the creation and purpose of the project, talked about the opportunities and challenges of hydrogen in the agricultural sector and agricultural entrepreneurs shared their plans for using hydrogen. Under the watchful eye of Koen Delanghe (programme manager for the EC Member State of the Netherlands), Ilse Zaal (member of the Provincial Executive for Economy and Agriculture of the Province of North Holland) and Ruud van Raak (director Kansen voor West (Opportunities for West)) jointly announced the official start of the project. They wished programme manager Wouter Veefkind every success with this project. A project that – because of its wide cooperation, approach and impact – has been designated ‘a project of strategic importance’.
Experimenting with hydrogen applications in agricultural practice
The Hydrogen in Agri NHN Field Lab is a physical location for hydrogen innovation. It is a place where affiliated companies and organisations can experiment with hydrogen applications in heavy machinery and study how these applications can be incorporated into agricultural business operations. In addition, they can conduct studies on the possibilities of hydrogen in various applications and how these can be used in the agricultural sector, as well as the impact of these applications on the environment, nature and society. The field lab will also develop training programmes for technicians and other personnel and develop plans on how these applications can be scaled up for use in the North Holland North region and beyond.
The Hydrogen in Agri NHN Field Lab is an important tool for future-proofing agribusiness. By using hydrogen in business operations, the sector will be able to meet the climate agreements faster and more effectively.
Clearly connected
At its start, the Hydrogen in Agri Field Lab comprised four practical locations (Loonbedrijf Sturm-Jacobs B.V., Rainbow Colors BV, Vertify and Inholland University of Applied Sciences). The locations each have their own goal and set-up, but are also clearly connected. At the Sturm-Jacobs contracting business in Wieringerwerf, the focus is on testing and demonstrating hydrogen in agricultural machines. The hydrogen required for this is intended to be generated on-site or supplied from Hygro’s nearby hydrogen wind turbine.
Esther Lunenborg, project developer at Hygro:
“Many agricultural businesses want to generate their own energy, and often have plenty of space for solar panels. But they don’t always have the option to feed the electricity back. Hydrogen offers opportunities. In the Agri Field Lab, we are examining the feasibility of a hydrogen production, storage and delivery system at agricultural businesses. Storing and matching supply and demand are crucial in that respect: to have the right amount of hydrogen available at the right time, and to be able to dispose of surpluses. Therefore we are also looking at how agricultural companies can be connected to the distribution network set up by Hygro in the Netherlands”.
Green hydrogen
Rainbow Colors is exploring the options of converting unused solar energy into green hydrogen and using the residual warmth released in the process for heating. At Vertify’s site, a heat lab is being developed with a hydrogen-powered heating system, to study the impact of hydrogen application on energy management and crop cultivation quality. Education also has an important place in the project to ensure that enough people will soon be trained to work with hydrogen. Training will be provided by Inholland University of Applied Sciences Alkmaar, where a Living Lab Electrolysis will also be opened for field lab activities in the agricultural sector.
The project is a public-private partnership working not for, but with entrepreneurs. The project is co-funded by Rabobank, New Energy Coalition, Kansen voor West and the European Union.
