Delfzijl, Netherlands: Sustainable raw materials producer Perpetual Next and Lhyfe Delfzijl, a subsidiary of Lhyfe, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the long-term supply of renewable hydrogen for Perpetual Next’s planned DeltaNor biomethanol facility in Delfzijl, the Netherlands, Fuel Cell Works reported.
The proposed partnership is aimed at assessing how renewable hydrogen from Lhyfe’s planned DelfzHyl hydrogen production facility could be supplied to the DeltaNor plant.
Biomethanol is seen as a potential option for reducing emissions in sectors where switching directly to electricity is difficult, particularly shipping and the chemical industry. Adding renewable hydrogen to hydrogen already present in gas produced from biomass could help convert more of the carbon from biomass into biomethanol and increase production.
Perpetual Next is developing DeltaNor as a biomethanol plant with an annual production capacity of 220,000 tonnes. The facility is part of five biomethanol projects currently at different stages of development by the company.
Under the MoU, the two companies will assess the possibility of supplying up to around 12,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year to the DeltaNor facility. Any final supply agreement will depend on further technical and commercial assessment.
Lhyfe currently has four hydrogen production sites operating in Europe and expects the number to reach six by the end of the year. The company is also developing larger projects with capacities of up to several hundred megawatts.
The Netherlands is among Europe’s more developed markets for renewable hydrogen, and Lhyfe is developing several projects in the country, including a planned 120 MW project in Delfzijl.
Delfzijl is home to a large industrial and chemical sector that already uses significant quantities of hydrogen as a raw material. Demand is expected to increase as industries move towards lower-emission production.
The revised Renewable Energy Directive, known as RED III, requires European Union member states to ensure that renewable hydrogen meets a minimum share of industrial hydrogen use by 2030 and 2035.
René Buwalda, CEO of Perpetual Next, said access to competitively priced renewable hydrogen would be an important factor in the continued development of DeltaNor.
“This MoU gives both companies a structured framework to evaluate how locally produced renewable hydrogen could support our biomethanol facility while strengthening the development case for both projects,” Buwalda said.
