14. April 2026
The first of a new series of Ready4H2 country deep‑dive series, being run jointly with GD4S and Eurogas Distribution Committee members was delivered today. Frank van Alphen from Stedin, representing the Dutch DSOs through Netbeheer Nederland, provided an overview of hydrogen developments in the Netherlands, including national policy and support schemes, infrastructure planning, and DSO‑level perspectives.
The importance of the gas DSOs is evident; the energy profile in the Netherlands shows that gas still supplies 30% of final energy consumption, mainly in buildings (34%) and industry (28%), with 80-90% of homes connected to gas. National energy scenarios show a rising role for hydrogen as well as biomethane to balance the increasingly mixed energy system and serve hard‑to‑decarbonise sectors. The national hydrogen backbone is being realised around connecting dedicated hydrogen infrastructure to 5 major industrial clusters. In addition, regional hydrogen distribution grids are seen as essential to deliver hydrogen to the many (local) industrial users that require high‑temperature heat that are geographically dispersed throughout the Netherlands and to balance the future energy system.
The webinar highlighted the importance of government support mechanisms and the need to clarify public ownership and designation of hydrogen distribution grids - vital to ensure affordability, avoid inefficient parallel infrastructure, and prevent cherry‑picking by commercial actors. This issue is currently unresolved in the Netherlands, with open designation procedures envisaged as part of the implementation of the EU Gas Package (targeted completion in July 2026).
Ready4H2 Director, Barbara Jinks, noted that the Netherlands showcased deep hydrogen experience with over 300 hydrogen initiatives - including DSO projects -across industry, transport, and buildings (over 25% in operation) and thanked the invaluable contributions of the Dutch DSOs to Ready4H2 knowledge-sharing. Frank stated that “by hosting the webinar and sharing the latest status of the pilots, knowledge, and developments, we hope to join forces and accelerate hydrogen developments”.
