OCEAN ENERGY RESOURCES
2 | 2021
'We are justified in describing PosHYdon as a world first.'
via offshore substations. If an O&G operator wants to electrify its platform in the North Sea, with electricity tapped from a Tennet platform, according to the Dutch 'Wind at Sea' Act, it is not permitted to do so. Tennet is only allowed to transport electricity from the sea directly to land, and not to a gas platform.” “Another example. The Dutch Mining Act states that when gas production at sea is halted, the O&G operator must have cleaned up the relevant platform within a few years. If in the framework of the energy transition, the operator decides that it wants to produce hydrogen on the platform, the Mining Act coolly specifies that since hydrogen is not a fossil fuel, the platform cannot be regarded as a mining installation. The clear implication is that to carry out its plans, the operator must first dismantle its production platform and then have a new platform built and installed for the production of hydrogen. Contradictory legislation and regulations of this kind must urgently be changed by government. It would after all be a terrible shame to first spend a great deal of money dismantling and removing platforms, that could easily be put to another use." What is the task of TNO? What services should a knowledge institute provide?
“TNO must play a much more linking role within the intended system transition, and the establishment of ecosystems with the market. Our focus must be placed much more on cooperation in transition issues with industry, government and other knowledge institutes.
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We refer to this task as orchestrating innovation. TNO must as it were be a spider in the web of the total innovation spectrum.” What steps should the industry take?
“In my judgement, the industry should slowly be starting to move from plans and studies to actual investments and projects. It is time to start taking definitive investment decisions. Not everything has to be done at full scale, right away, but at least start taking decisions that can be put into effect. There is a list of more than 100 hydrogen projects, 99 of which are still waiting for an RFID. Right now, the industry is waiting for The Hague or Brussels to start handing out subsidies, once final agreements have been reached about the infrastructure. It is yet another example of the well-known chicken and egg story, with the negative outcome that projects that have already been announced are starting to lose their credibility.” How crucial is hydrogen in your opinion?
“It is extremely important. Hydrogen can be seen as a storage and transport medium, that will provide the necessary flexibility in a future where there are only renewable energy sources. This makes hydrogen a crucial element in the total transition, in which it is becoming increasingly important that we take steps towards achieving the intended 49% or 55% CO2 reduction, by 2030. If we then want to push through to 95% reduction by 2050, then the only possibility will be to decarbonise industry and refineries. To achieve these near-zero
