Title: Hallo Holland Hydrogen I

Duration: 20:01 minutes

Description:

This documentary marks the start of the Hydorgen economy in The Netherlands.

 

Together we kickstart the Dutch Hydrogen economy. With over 150 partners we are building Europe’s largest Hydrogen installation at the Tweede Maasvlakte. Hello Holland Hydrogen I.

 

Hallo Holland Hydrogen I

 

[Video footage]

Drone footage of the Tweede Maasvlakte. A graphic of the to-be-built installation appears.

 

[Voice-over Lijs]

 

Here, we will build Europe's largest green hydrogen plant.

 

Holland Hydrogen 1 on Maasvlakte 2 will truly be the plant of the future.

 

[Video footage]

Caroline at home and walking through Amsterdam. Drone footage of the centre of Amsterdam.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

I'm Caroline, actress, presenter and voiceover and in that capacity I was asked to contribute to this film.

 

A film about the construction of Europe's largest green hydrogen plant by Shell and 150 partners.

 

About a first step towards a hydrogen economy. I worry about climate change.

 

[Video footage]

Caroline talking on camera; sitting at her kitchen table.

 

[Text]

I live consciously, I eat plant-based, I recycle, I pay attention to what I buy.

 

[Video footage]

Footage of highways, chemical parks, the port of Rotterdam, Tweede Maasvlakte and solar panels. Followed by footage of Ruben and Caroline walking through a parc.

 

[Voice-over]

 

But I also know a lot more is needed to combat climate change.

 

We will have to switch from fossil fuels to sustainable energy.

 

We will have to produce and transport differently.

 

I hear hydrogen can play a key role in this.

 

Can it really? And how does that work?

 

What is hydrogen and what will the construction of this plant mean for us?

 

I decided to ask the specialists.

 

So here I go, on my way to my first meeting with Ruben van Grinsven one of the leading figures of Shell's hydrogen projects in the Netherlands.

 

My first question is: You hear a lot about hydrogen. But what is it and what can you do with it?

 

[Voice-over Ruben]

Hydrogen will play an important role in future energy systems.

 

The nice thing about hydrogen, if you use it to carry energy by burning it or to generate electricity, is that it doesn't produce CO2, like natural gas, but water.

 

So it's clean to use.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

A strange question, maybe, but how is hydrogen made?

 

[Voice-over Ruben]

It's quite simple. You take electricity from offshore wind or solar energy. Then, you take water and electrify it.

 

Water will then split into hydrogen and oxygen. That's basically it.

 

The oxyhydrogen explosion trick shown in chemistry at school does just that.

 

This is the same process, but at an industrial scale.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

We already have green wind and solar power for the plant.

 

What do we need hydrogen for?

 

[Text Ruben]

There are a few applications for which electricity isn't ideal.

 

For example, you can't make steel with electricity.

 

It's impractical to make large lorries that have to drive across Europe,

battery-powered.

 

You need something else to make this greener, and we think hydrogen is the key.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

So if we want to make our heavy industry or heavy transport greener hydrogen is a better fit.

Is there already a demand for it?

 

[Text Ruben]

We're not there yet. We still have to create a market.

 

We expect that there will be a green hydrogen market, but there isn't one yet.

 

Meanwhile, governments are still trying to find out how to set up this market.

 

In technical terms, this will be the first plant on this scale.

 

So there is still a lot to learn to make sure it all works.

 

So there are many challenges.

 

 

[Video footage]

Caroline walking in a Dutch landscape. A windmill is seen. Followed by a shot of the building 40 Blaak in Rotterdam.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

No shortage of challenges, indeed.

 

Ruben said that when creating hydrogen from green electricity, energy is lost.

 

You could argue that green electricity is still scarce and could be used elsewhere.

 

But this won't help develop a hydrogen economy which is needed to make the industry

and heavy transport more sustainable.

 

For this first green hydrogen plant at this scale we still need to learn a lot before it really works, Ruben said.

 

40 Blaak in Rotterdam houses the architect who was tasked with building this complex.

He has a particular vision.

 

[Text Vincent]

 

To get to my favourite beach at Maasvlakte 2 you have to drive along Pernis

and my daughters have asked me what all those rusty things are. No tree in sight. Only concrete.

 

[Video footage]

Footage of the Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam followed by the architect working on the design of the installation.

 

[Text Vincent]

 

This has made me want to do things differently.

 

Because it will also be visible from my favourite beach it has to be something special

and should give space to nature.

 

Its sustainability comes from two things. Firstly, producing hydrogen is sustainable.

 

As architects, our task is to embed it into the landscape.

We want to have a positive footprint

in every way.

 

So everything flowing through the building, energy, water, air, biodiversity, materials will have to be just as clean or cleaner when it exits the building than when it entered it. For example, we will purify the air with an air washer.

 

So before returning to nature, the air is cleaned and CO2, nitrogen and particulates

are removed so that it's cleaner than when it entered the plant.

 

We put our best people who are most committed to sustainability together in one team

and had a lot of discussions with engineers.

 

So many parties are involved, because air and water purifying buildings don't really exist yet,

let alone this combination.

 

A lot of research and innovation is needed, which we do with our entire team.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

I can sense your enthusiasm, but will this all be behind fences and barriers?

 

[Text Vincent]

No. What's great is that as a flagship project for Shell it wants to make it accessible to visitors to see and experience how such a plant could work and how different it is.

 

You walk past the plant to this wooden tower which is 40 metres high. There you will enter an experience.

 

I know wooden buildings. They just feel and smell different.

 

You will hear birds sing. You will not be in an industrial environment.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

What makes you passionate about this project?

 

[Text Vincent]

My personal passion is achieving this positive footprint.

 

This is how all buildings should be.

 

Every building we add to the world makes it a bit worse while it should make it better.

 

That's a mission for our agency and for me personally.

 

And if it can lead to a great design like this, it works both ways because it will make the project attractive to everyone.

 

[Video Footage]

Caroline catches a train followed by a shot of a train leaving the Amsterdam Train Station.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

An innovative design for a plant

that will contribute to the production of a sustainable energy carrier, hydrogen as a step in the energy transition.

 

When do we speak of an energy transition? And is this the first time we're in one?

 

This sounds like a question for scientists.

 

[Text Coby]

If you look at the literature in academia an energy transition takes place when one-third of the energy consumption changes radically.

 

When the Netherlands switched from coal to natural gas when it was discovered in Groningen, this was an energy transition.

 

Today, we're talking about a larger transition because we're trying

to replace coal, oil and gas.

 

Why hydrogen? Because it has many functions.

 

It's a raw material, but also an energy source.

 

Now, with the hydrogen economy we want to use solar and wind energy

at a large scale for electrification but also for the production of hydrogen.

 

[Video footage]

Drone footage of the Tweede Maasvlakte. Lijs and Caroline walk out a building and jump on a small car.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

The production of green hydrogen,

as Professor van der Linde mentioned is located on Maasvlakte 2 which is indeed next to the beautiful North Sea beaches.

 

[Text Lijs]

I will give you a tour of the site.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

I meet Lijs Groenendaal, who drives me around the site.

 

It's huge and also hugely empty. For now.

 

Lijs is Holland Hydrogen 1's project leader. What makes her work interesting?

 

[Text Lijs]

What I like most is seeing that we've really started now.

 

On the Maasvlakte behind me the first groundworks have begun

and there is real progress.

 

More than 150 parties will collaborate

to put this plant together.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

How big or powerful will the plant be?

 

[Text Lijs]

Holland Hydrogen 1 is a 200 MW electrolyser.

 

This plant will have an energy output for 2300 lorries a day.

 

It will truly be the plant of the future.

 

We chose Maasvlakte 2 because this is where everything comes together.

 

Behind me, you see the hydrogen conversion park which will have multiple

hydrogen electrolysis plants.

 

In the future, there will be a landing point for offshore wind power.

 

We have the power, the water and the industrial users here.

 

So everything comes together here in Rotterdam.

 

[Video footage]

Bas, Lijs and Caroline look at a map and drawing of the building site. Bas shows Caroline where the installation will be built.

 

[text Bas]

Do you see this large building? It will be over there, at the roundabout.

 

The electrolysis hall will be here in the middle.

 

[Text Lijs]

It's fantastic what we're doing here. It's a huge step for the Netherlands for Rotterdam and for everyone to get this project underway.

 

That's a story worth telling.

 

[Video footage]

Drone footage of Amsterdam Central Station. Caroline walks through Amsterdam; travelling to the ETCA. She hops on a Hydrogen Car.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

Ruben, Coby, Vincent, Lijs.

 

They're all committed to sustainable solutions for producing energy.

 

An immense task, as I realise more and more that everything around us is made

and transported using energy.

 

Mostly from fossil sources. This has to change.

 

Using wind-powered hydrogen for production and transport helps with this change.

 

Bas spoke about the bustling heart of the plant: the electrolysers.

 

Huge machines that use green electricity to split distilled water into oxygen and water molecules.

 

In my borrowed hydrogen car, that does more or less the opposite...

 

I'm on my way to the German city of Essen.

 

Home to one of the biggest technology companies in the world: ThyssenKrupp,

also a producer of electrolysers.

 

[Text Christoph]

 

We deliver all electrolyser equipment, which is a 20 MW module.

 

Inside that module, we have our electrolyser cells.

 

Inside the electrolyser cells, we split water into oxygen and green hydrogen and there is other equipment to clean and to cool the hydrogen and the oxygen.

 

We're fully committed to the green hydrogen future and here, we've operated a 2 MW test

and demonstration facility already since 2018.

 

This 2 MW plant doesn't have the same size as a 20 MW module but the single elements

have the same size.

 

And then, if you want to come to a big mega plant like a 200 MW plant in Rotterdam,

we're numbering up the modules from one module to ten modules

to have 200 MW in total.

 

159      00:11:32:04     00:11:38:05

So the Holland Hydrogen 1 of Shell is the lighthouse project in Europe.

 

And I think we can all be proud to be part of that and to contribute to it,

because we're doing something good.

 

[Video footage]

Caroline drives the Hydrogen Car. Followed by her sitting at the dunes of the Maasvlakte beach.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

We're working on something good,

Christoph said.

 

He also seems proud to use his knowledge, skills and innovation power to scale up and accelerate the energy transition.

 

Back in the Netherlands, I meet another advocate of innovative thought and action: Maria Kalogera.

 

[Video footage]

Caroline and Maria meet; followed by the two of them walking at the beach.

 

[Text Caroline/Maria]

Hello.

-Hey.

 

I'm Caroline. Nice to meet you.

-I'm Maria. Nice to meet you too.

 

Great that you have some time for me.

-Of course.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

She works as an innovation manager at CrossWind a joint venture between Shell and Eneco that will produce wind-powered energy at sea for the hydrogen plant.

 

They also conduct research into energy generation when there is no wind.

 

[Text Maria]

The wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine.

 

The idea is: How can we make a more stable power output regardless of wind or sun conditions?

 

That's why in our windfarm we'll also develop a floating solar pack.

 

Because we know that in summer, on average, the wind speeds are lower.

 

This complementary wind and solar profile enables a more constant power flow. That's great for the whole energy system.

 

Because you can imagine that we can't always match the power demand with the supply profile.

 

If we are to speed up the energy transition, we need to make bold moves and we need to act now.

 

As such, innovation is a great way of making that step into the energy transition.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

So what does hydrogen mean in terms of the energy transition?

 

[Text Maria]

Hydrogen is the critical link in the energy transition.

 

And I feel the urgency and the pressure. We do need to act now.

 

That's why within CrossWind, we say we do not have all the answers but we work together with the academia, with the government with policy makers, with research institutes.

 

Because we want to accelerate the energy transition and make it happen.

 

[Video footage]

Caroline walking at the Port of Rotterdam.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

Wind, sun, green power, hydrogen.

 

And then? Who transports it? Who makes sure supply and demand can meet?

 

In short: who facilitates it?

 

Here, the Port of Rotterdam Authority plays an important role.

 

A port authority may sound self-evident, but what does it do?

 

[Text Allard]

 

The Port of Rotterdam Authority

manages the entire complex and all the land, waterways, quay walls.

 

So we enable companies to operate in the port and to use it.

 

Currently, Rotterdam is an energy hub for mineral oils, oil products, coal and gas.

 

13% of all European energy enters through Rotterdam and is not only used here in Rotterdam, but also transported to European cities.

 

In the future, we want to be Europe's hydrogen hub.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

How can a big fossil port become Europe's green hydrogen hub?

 

[Text Allard]

We want to enable Rotterdam's companies to use this green hydrogen.

 

We will lay a pipeline through the port complex.

 

But we also want to import green hydrogen as we currently do with crude oil and oil products.

 

We also want to transport this hydrogen to other industrial clusters in the Netherlands and abroad.

 

I'm very positive about a hydrogen economy. It will make a big difference.

 

We see a huge increase in interest, a decrease in costs and an increase in CO2 costs.

 

All this contributes to enabling a value chain that can make that difference.

 

Moreover, big companies are willing to reduce their CO2 emissions and to make a difference.

 

Rotterdam wants to ensure that if a company has to make

an investment decision they will want to invest here to become more sustainable.

 

[Video footage]

Drone footage of the centre of Amsterdam; followed by imagery of offshore wind turbines, the Rotterdam watertaxi, Hydrogen buses, the Ruygenhoek Hydrogen fueling station and Schiphol.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

 

Hydrogen. I now know what it is, how it's made and that, as an energy carrier it can help make industry and transport more sustainable. It can also help store wind and solar energy so that in the future, we'll always have green power available.

 

If you pay attention, you see many people and companies pioneering with hydrogen.

 

During my quest, I heard the SWIM consortium in Rotterdam works on hydrogen-powered

water transport starting with the world's first hydrogen-powered water taxi.

 

That Hyzon in the Northern Netherlands

builds hydrogen lorries.

 

That Qbuzz operates hydrogen buses.

 

And that there are more and more filling stations for cars and heavy transport.

 

Beforehand, I didn't know what to expect from driving a hydrogen car.

 

Once behind the wheel, it didn't feel any different from driving an electric car.

 

I could also easily refuel it at a petrol station and it went just as fast

as filling up a petrol car.

 

Besides consumer stations Shell also opened the first public filling station in the Netherlands for lorries.

 

Hydrogen could also play a major role in the future of aviation.

 

[video footage]

Forze Hydrogen car racing on the circuit; followed by footage of the Forze Hydrogen Team.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

But my favourite hydrogen application is TU Delft's race car built by the students

of the Forze Hydrogen Racing team.

 

[Text Coen]

We're a team of sixty students. We voluntarily sign up for one year because, like many others, we believe in the future of hydrogen.

 

We're building the world's fastest hydrogen race car.

 

Of course, with this technology, some of the components here are cutting edge and have just entered production, so we help partners to test them.

 

We also try to push the technology as far as possible to develop it.

 

And on the track, we show that we can compete with fossil fuel-powered cars.

 

With the Forze 9, we want to compete with Lamborghinis...

 

Porsches and Ferraris, you name it.

 

We want to get ahead of them. That would truly make a statement.

 

Young people still have to live on this earth in 20, 30, 40, 50 years and we want to keep our feet dry.

 

So I feel a certain responsibility to act and to dive into this subject in order to make an impact later. So yes, I think we should contribute.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

With the Holland Hydrogen 1 hydrogen plant we take a first step

towards a hydrogen economy.

 

Which is also a step in replacing fossil by sustainable sources in order to emit less CO2.

 

Everyone assures me it isn't easy and quite a few challenges have to be overcome.

 

But more than 150 partners have joined forces to take a new way forward.

 

It's like Maria Kalogera's saying:

 

[Text Maria]

If you want to go fast, you go alone.

If you want to go far, you go together.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

That's what we should be doing.

 

The construction of Europe's largest green hydrogen plant has, for me, become an example

of doing things together.

 

[Video footage]

Caroline and Ruben walking in a parc.

 

[Voice-over Caroline]

My final question is for Ruben: How do you see the future?

 

[Text Ruben]

This is only the beginning.

 

We're going to build 200 MW now, which is big. But we need gigawatts.

 

So the team is very excited that we can make this happen but there's also a lot of pressure

on our shoulders to make this a success.

 

If this is successful, more will follow and we can really start building towards the energy systems of the future.

 

Challenge accepted.

[Video footage]

Shell endcard.