Equinor has set ambitious targets and aim to succeed through developing industrial value chains in emerging markets for both CCS and low carbon hydrogen. We will build on our competitive advantages, using technology and innovation at scale to accelerate growth, improvements, and value creation. Northwest European markets, including The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France, are strategic markets where we aim to take an architect role, shaping policy and demand in the short term.
With H2BE, ENGIE and Equinor aim to develop the production of low-carbon hydrogen from natural gas in Belgium. Both companies are jointly exploring the market potential for the large-scale production of hydrogen from natural gas using the auto-thermal reforming (ATR) technology combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS).
By providing access to competitively priced low-carbon hydrogen, Belgian industry can withstand its position in a global climate-neutral economy.
H2BE actively contributes to the structural advancement of domestically produced low-carbon hydrogen by ensuring investments in local infrastructure. Locally produced low carbon hydrogen from natural gas will be required to convert end-users to hydrogen and secure baseload requirements for infrastructure development. It will also enable local industry to decarbonise in a timely and affordable manner.
The 1 GW low-carbon hydrogen facility will be capable of producing 200 kilotons annually. The ATR technology allows for decarbonization rates above 95% and for producing hydrogen at large scale at competitive cost levels.
A key aspect of its strategy involves transporting and storing the captured CO2 in Norway. A CO2 terminal in Ghent and an offshore CO2 pipeline from Zeebrugge onwards to the Norwegian continental shelf is the CO2 transport and storage solution being considered.
The partners aim for start-up production by early 2030s.
Germany remains a long-term priority market for Equinor's low carbon solutions due to potential industrial demand for hydrogen and a national commitment to hydrogen infrastructure.
Equinor will continue to closely collaborate with German authorities and explore early-phase options for a Germany-based project, including the H2GE project in Rostock.
Together with VNG AG, Equinor is working on a project aiming for planning, construction, and operation of a large-scale hydrogen plant in Rostock with an annual low carbon hydrogen production capacity of up to 211,000 tonnes.
The plant could produce low-carbon hydrogen by reforming natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf combined with CO2 capture and storage (CCS).
Almost 2 million tonnes of CO2 per year may be captured corresponding to a minimum capture rate of 95%. The CO2 would then be liquefied and sent by ships to safe storage areas in Denmark or offshore in the North Sea.
The project can form the basis for a hydrogen and CO2 hub in the Rostock area connecting to the approved hydrogen core grid in Germany and support the decarbonization of the East German industry. This can lead to emission reductions by millions of tons per year compared to the current use of fossil fuel and provide a base load supply of large quantities of low-CO2 hydrogen to bridge and supplement hydrogen from renewable energies.
