To make the energy system and industry more sustainable, CO2-free gases such as green hydrogen are needed in addition to large amounts of renewable energy. Therefore, our long-term client Gasunie is planning to build an underground hydrogen storage facility near Zuidwending in the Netherlands, called the HyStock project, to offset any future imbalance in supply and demand for hydrogen in the BackBone.
The underground storage requires an above ground installation that injects hydrogen from the BackBone with compressors into the caverns and vice versa. This installation will be an important part of the hydrogen infrastructure in the Netherlands. Bilfinger Tebodin will execute the Basic Engineering for this unique installation.
“We are proud to have been awarded this project which fits seamlessly with our in-house experience,” says Jasper van der Kooi, Regional Director at Bilfinger Tebodin. “Our team is ready to work together with Gasunie to contribute to the development of the national hydrogen economy and energy transition in the Netherlands.”
Salt caverns ideal for hydrogen storage
From a technical and economic point of view, large-scale hydrogen storage in salt caverns is the most promising solution, both for the long and short term. Buffering hydrogen to balance production and consumption at GW scale requires the injection and extraction of large amounts of hydrogen in a short period of time; therefore, caverns must be realized, which are particularly suitable for rapid hydrogen delivery. The caverns function as a lung in the hydrogen network and enable the total energy system in the Netherlands and Europe to achieve the ambitious sustainability targets.
