A far-reaching energy cooperation between the Netherlands and Denmark has been launched after Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Eric Wiebes, and Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Supply, Dan Jørgensen signed a formal cooperation agreement – a so-called Memorandum of Understanding – on 19 June, 2020.

Both Denmark and the Netherlands have ambitious climate targets of 70 and 49 per cent emissions reduction, respectively, from 1990 to 2030. With the new agreement there will be even more knowledge exchange and cooperation in green heating, offshore wind, energy efficiency, decarbonisation of gas infrastructure, EU climate ambitions and Power-to-X.

-Related news: Cobra unleashes green energy flows between Denmark and Holland

Over the past year and a half, the Danish Energy Agency has built a close and confidential collaboration with the Netherlands on green heating systems. The cooperation covers the Dutch Ministry of Energy as well as other authorities and interest groups. So far, the cooperation has focused particularly on district heating, as the Netherlands aims to convert the country's heat supply to up to 1.5 million households from individual natural gas furnaces to sustainable heating such as green district heating by 2030.

130 million euros worth of Power-to-X

As part of the bilateral cooperation agreement, the Netherlands will invest EUR 130 million in large-scale Power-to-X plants in Denmark.

“In Denmark we have a really good starting point for developing Power-to-X. We have significant wind resources, a well-functioning energy system and strong business skills. The Netherlands has a great deal of experience in hydrogen production. The partnership is not only a unique opportunity to finance some of our green ambitions, it will also strengthen international cooperation and knowledge sharing in the field,” said Dan Jørgensen in a press release (in Danish).

-Related news: The Netherlands and P4G launch new sustainable platform

“I really value Denmark being at the forefront of the green transition, especially in the field of hydrogen. The Danish-Dutch agreement is an expression of our shared green ambitions, which we will continue to work on in the future,” said Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Eric Wiebes.

In recent years, the Netherlands has grown to become Denmark's third largest export market for energy technology.

Source

Danish Energy Agency (in Danish)

Read the Memorandum of Understanding

Photo by Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash