Novar and Avitec have received a certificate for H2 Hollandia for the production of green hydrogen. H2 Hollandia claims this makes it the largest commercial project in the Netherlands to achieve this certification milestone. Earlier this week, green hydrogen was successfully produced for the first time during the test phase at the site in Drenthe.
H2 Hollandia
H2 Hollandia is a joint project between energy systems developer Novar, infrastructure, environment and sustainability specialist Avitec, and energy supplier Repowered. In this project, the partners are combining the development, ownership, sustainable generation and application of green hydrogen. Their focus includes large-scale sustainable energy generation, smart conversion to hydrogen and its deployment in the region.
The project aims to demonstrate how large-scale solar power generation and the conversion to green hydrogen can be directly linked within a regional energy system. H2 Hollandia is set to produce 300,000 kg of green hydrogen annually, using 5 MW of electrolysers. The hydrogen will be transported to end users using tube trailers.
The production process also yields pure oxygen. This can be used, amongst other things, for aeration in water treatment plants.
Vloeivelden Hollandia Solar Park
H2 Hollandia’s green hydrogen is produced using renewable electricity from the Vloeivelden Hollandia Solar Park. This is a solar park built on the floodplains that were formerly part of the wastewater treatment plant at the Hollandia factory in the municipality of Borger-Odoorn. This factory was demolished in the early 1990s, after which the effluent fields came into the hands of Avebe, a cooperative of 1,864 growers from the Netherlands and Germany.
The solar park comprises 288,278 solar panels, which generate a peak capacity of 115.30 MWp. This is sufficient to supply 35,226 households with electricity. The park was officially opened in May 2021 by His Majesty King Willem-Alexander.
The space beneath the solar park is available to Avebe as a water buffer. If this buffer is not required, grass can grow on the site, on which sheep, for example, can graze.
RFNBO hydrogen
The certificate now awarded to Novar and Avitec confirms that H2 Hollandia meets the requirements for the production of so-called RFNBO hydrogen. RFNBO hydrogen is renewable hydrogen of non-biological origin. This demonstrates that the production process meets key European requirements regarding origin, emissions reduction and traceability throughout the supply chain.
The certificate was issued by Normec QS B.V. under the ISCC EU (International Sustainability and Carbon Certification) certification scheme. The certification complies with the requirements of the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED III).
25 kg of green hydrogen produced
The first 25 kilograms of green hydrogen have now been produced at H2 Hollandia’s production site. This has demonstrated that the system works during the test phase.
Incidentally, the facility is not yet fully operational. The compressor and refuelling infrastructure will be installed in the next phase. Once the facility is complete, green hydrogen can be used to power both local industry and heavy goods vehicles.
