Hyoffwind partners with John Cockerill and BESIX to build a green hydrogen production facility in Zeebrugge
Belgian consortium Hyoffwind has signed an agreement with John Cockerill and BESIX to design and build a green hydrogen production unit in Zeebrugge. This agreement represents a new milestone for Hyoffwind, which is playing a key pioneering role in line with the Flemish, Belgian and European hydrogen strategy, according to the Port of Zeebrugge's release.
The Hyoffwind project is being developed by a consortium active across the entire energy value chain. The consortium, consisting of Virya Energy (generation and sale of renewable energy) and Fluxys (transmission of green molecules), aims to develop a power-to-gas facility that can convert renewable electricity into green hydrogen.
Green hydrogen is a crucial building block for a renewable energy economy, as it can be used as a raw material for industrial processes and for a variety of mobility applications. Hyoffwind will also contribute to the flexibility and balance of the energy system by providing an effective solution for the increased variability created as a result of renewable electricity production.
Fluxys and Virya Energy joined forces in 2018 to bolster the sustainability of the energy landscape in Belgium and Europe. The first phase of the planned project will consist of a facility that can convert 25 MW of electricity into green hydrogen, but the partners aim to scale this up to 100 MW in the second phase.
Following the outcome of the feasibility study, carried out with the support of the Federal Energy Transition Fund, a tender process was started involving multiple parties. In selecting John Cockerill and BESIX as technology partners and as partners for the design and the construction of the facility, the consortium has taken the next major step. The permit application process was begun in late 2021 and the consortium expects to receive a permit by mid-2022. The final investment decision, which is also subject to the granting of subsidies by the Flemish government under the recovery plan, will be made in the course of 2022.
Flemish Minister for Economy and Innovation Hilde Crevits has been supporting the project since 2020 because it dovetails perfectly with the Flemish hydrogen strategy. In fact, in 2020 the Flemish government awarded €8 million in strategic ecological aid to Hyoffwind. In addition, Minister Crevits will provide another €23 million under the Flemish recovery plan via the European call for IPCEIs, whose first series of projects must now be approved by the European Commission.
This pioneering project, combined with the development of hydrogen infrastructure, will make a major contribution to the Flemish, Belgian and European hydrogen strategy by taking a first step towards the development of Flanders and Belgium as a European green hydrogen hub.