Green hydrogen is on the rise and also from Nieuwegein, Utrecht is a Utrecht and European project for green hydrogen. Green hydrogen has enormous potential for making heavy transport - including over water - more sustainable in the near future. LIFE NEW HYTS stands for ReNewable Green Hydrogen for Transport and is funded by the LIFE program from Brussels.
What it takes is guts
Is the breakthrough of hydrogen at an impasse? Not if it is up to the initiators of LIFE NEW HYTS. Just start and guts, that is what is needed. Guts from The Hague, guts from Europe and guts from the entrepreneurs, Jörg Gigler of TKI Urban Energy also said at the kick-off. LIFE NEW HYTS is a collaborative project between KWR, the province of Utrecht, Hysolar, Stamhuis, Van Heezik, Van den Heerik's Internationaal Transportbedrijf B.V. and Jos Scholman Beheer B.V. This combination of knowledge, expertise, entrepreneurship and administrative coordination is putting their shoulders to the wheel to set up the chain of local production, distribution and application in Nieuwegein. A 9 MWP solar field (good for the electricity for 3,000 households) provides the green energy for the 2.5 megawatt electrolyser that will be built in 2023. The hydrogen produced will be transported in a pipeline to Jos Scholman's public filling station. There it can be refueled at a pressure of 350 bar for trucks and buses and at 700 bar for passenger cars. Carriers are not waiting and are purchasing trucks and power vehicles. The first hydrogen-powered crane truck is a first! Hydrogen production follows demand and rises to 250 tons per year within a few years. Good for the daily use of 750 passenger cars or 25 buses.
Transportation hub in the middle of the country
Reduce CO2, build 160,000 houses, prevent overloading the grid and ensure cleaner air. These are no small tasks facing Utrecht, said Deputy Arne Schaddelee. Because of its central location, Utrecht is a transport hub. Many travelers, many commercial vehicles and many goods pass through the province by road and by water. LIFE NEW HYTS is particularly committed to making heavy transport more sustainable, for which storing energy in batteries is still a major challenge. Hydrogen does not have that limitation; hydrogen can be refueled. A full tank of hydrogen is realized within five minutes. Running heavy equipment and transport on green hydrogen is going to make a significant contribution to reducing CO2. The LIFE NEW HYTS project involves an annual saving of two million liters of diesel. As a province, Utrecht can contribute with this project to the realization of 10% of the national ambition of CO2 reduction of the Climate Agreement. A consortium of educators in the transport sector, including Innovam, is providing training for automotive technicians of hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Think global, act local
LIFE NEW HYTS is a demonstration project and provides the province from Nieuwegein with valuable data on the use and cost of green hydrogen. It provides practical support for the accelerated introduction of green hydrogen in (heavy) transport. Province of Utrecht is expanding Waterstof Utrecht, the hydrogen covenant for the transport sector, under this project. More than 110 parties have already signed this agreement. There is also cooperation with the Brugge region in Belgium and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany.