Construction of 6 kilometers of demi-pipeline almost ready
Shell is building an electrolyser - where hydrogen is made - in the Conversion Park on the Maasvlakte. Gasunie is installing the pipeline from the Conversion Park to Shell Pernis - the Hydrogen Backbone of the port area - to deliver the hydrogen to Shell Pernis, which (partly) replaces the fossil fuel required for Shell's production process. Demineralised water is also needed to produce hydrogen.
Versatile project
The Conversion Park is close to the North Sea, but desalination of salt water is a costly process. This includes the pre-purification of algae from the water, for example, the process of sweetening the pre-purified water and the removal of the filtered salt, which may not simply be discharged. The easiest option is therefore to transport demineralized water to the Maasvlakte. To achieve this, the deminet had to be expanded by 6 kilometers.
After a long preparation process, in which nitrogen deposition had to be tackled, among other things, Evides Industriewater started installing the pipeline in November 2023. Due to the heavy rainfall, we were immediately confronted with a soaking wet project area. A pump was used to keep the trench dry, but the area was so saturated that rainwater had nowhere to go. The working method has therefore been adjusted in close consultation.
The work on public land is now almost complete. It is a versatile project with various trenchless techniques, including directional drilling. The pipeline can soon be built into the existing deminet.
The connections to the Conversion Park will follow at the end of this year, which will really bring an end to this important project.