Hydrogen development in North Holland has been given important European status. The Hydrogen Valley status is an award by the European Commission to regions committed to developing a distinctive energy system based on sustainable hydrogen. The award was given to the cooperative clusters in the North Sea Canal Area and North Holland North.
Public-private cooperation in the region deemed ‘best practice’
North-Holland is ideally positioned as a region to accelerate the European transition to hydrogen. With IJmuiden, Amsterdam and Den Helder, the region has no fewer than three seaports. These are important for landing, importing, transporting and storing renewable energy. The seaports cooperate constructively with Schiphol Airport, the waterways, rail and pipe links and connection to the national hydrogen network, to supply renewable energy for regional consumption and the transit to neighbouring regions and countries. The aspects ‘public-private partnership’ and ‘financing’ of the North Holland region were cited as a ‘best-practice’.
Better access to European knowledge and funding
With the Hydrogen Valley status award, the region is now officially part of the European sustainability programme. The advantage is that the region now has better access to knowledge and funding from Europe, which can accelerate efforts to make our energy supply more sustainable.
Great next step
Edward Stigter, member of the Provincial Executive and chairman of the NKZG Energy Transition Steering Committee commented on Valley status:
“Granting the status of Hydrogen Valley is a major step, by which we can accelerate the region’s sustainability efforts further. It is great to be able to scale up our plans for the province with European help. Hydrogen not only helps us meet climate targets, but also provides our residents with cleaner air compared to fossil fuels.”
More information can be found on the North Holland North site or that of H2V.
