Construction of Belgium’s first green hydrogen plant commenced on Tuesday in Zeebrugge. The plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2026 and aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 25,000 tonnes annually in the mobility and industry sectors.
The project is a collaboration between family-owned companies Messer and Virya Energy, in partnership with Hyoffgreen. It will have a capacity of 25 MW, which will be used to power an electrolyser to split water into hydrogen. The site would therefore become Belgium's first green hydrogen plant. It is due to start operating in the third quarter of 2026. Belgium hopes that green hydrogen will play a key role in decarbonising transport and industry.
A ceremony to mark the start of the work was held on Tuesday and was attended by Flemish Minister-President Matthias Diependaele, who stressed the importance of the project in the context of the Flemish and European energy transition objectives. The project received €30 million in finance from the Flemish energy investment fund and NextGenerationEU.
"Demand for green hydrogen is expected to increase, given the decarbonization targets in industry and transportation. This unique combination of private sector innovation and public strategic interests is propelling Belgium to the forefront of the hydrogen economy in Europe."
A diagram of the electrolyser plant. Credit: Wave Makers
Belgium has long hoped to pioneer green hydrogen, partnering with other EU Member States to build infrastructure that will develop the energy. But when these will produce to scale is not yet clear, especially as nuclear electricity production in Belgium diminishes and the cost of energy production rises.
The European Commissioner for Climate Action and European Commission Vice-President Teresa Ribera sent a video message to Tuesday's opening in which she praised Hyoffwind as "a remarkable step forward," pointing out that it is "strategically located in an energy hub with the potential to offer major opportunities to companies at all levels of the hydrogen value chain."
