Gasunie has completed the final weld on a 32-kilometre hydrogen pipeline in the Port of Rotterdam, closing construction on the first built section of the Netherlands’ national hydrogen network, according to the company's release.
The project now moves into testing, pre-commissioning and commissioning ahead of first hydrogen flows targeted in 2026. Built by Gasunie’s 100%-owned subsidiary Hynetwork Services, the line is intended to anchor a Dutch hydrogen “backbone” that will connect industrial clusters to import terminals, storage at Zuidwending and cross-border links to Germany and Belgium.
Construction on the Rotterdam section began in April 2024 after several years of preparation. The route crossed a dense landscape of roads, railways, waterways and “hundreds of existing pipes and cables,” with locations where the new pipe had to pass beneath more than 20 live lines.
Hynetwork says the 32-km route runs from Maasvlakte 2 across the port area toward the Pernis/Vondelingenplaat industrial zone, with six prepared branch points for future customer connections.
Gasunie’s roll-out plan foresees the Rotterdam section entering service “by no later than 2026,” the wider coastal-cluster network targeted for availability by 2030 and full national interconnection by 2033.
“Construction of the network in Rotterdam has already begun; that section will be ready in 2026, bang on time,” said Helmie Botter, Gasunie’s Business Development Hydrogen Manager. Joost Hooghiem, Director of Hydrogen Network Netherlands, said: “The first hydrogen will flow through our network in Rotterdam in 2026.”
The Rotterdam build-out is designed to integrate with Shell’s 200-MW Holland Hydrogen 1 electrolyser on Maasvlakte 2 and to serve Shell’s Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam (Pernis); the port authority confirms the first section is expected to be operational in 2026.
In parallel, the port is advancing the Porthos CO₂ transport and storage project, with offshore pipeline installation completed this month.