IN Brief:
- Lhyfe and Perpetual Next have signed an MoU covering potential renewable hydrogen supply to the planned DeltaNor biomethanol plant.
- Lhyfe's planned Delfzijl hydrogen project has an initial 120MW phase, while DeltaNor is designed for 220,000 tonnes of biomethanol annually.
- The partners are assessing supply of up to around 12,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year, with no final supply commitment yet agreed.
Lhyfe and Perpetual Next have signed a memorandum of understanding to assess a long term renewable hydrogen supply arrangement between two planned industrial projects at Delfzijl in the Netherlands.
The proposed link would connect Lhyfe’s planned hydrogen production facility with Perpetual Next’s DeltaNor biomethanol plant in the Groningen chemical cluster. The companies are assessing potential supply of up to around 12,000 tonnes of renewable hydrogen a year, subject to further technical and commercial evaluation.
Lhyfe is developing a 120MW renewable hydrogen project at Delfzijl, while Perpetual Next is planning DeltaNor with annual biomethanol production capacity of 220,000 tonnes. The MoU creates a framework for the companies to examine whether the two developments can be integrated without committing either party to a final supply contract.
Hydrogen would be used as a process feedstock rather than simply as a fuel. DeltaNor is intended to convert biogenic material into synthesis gas before producing methanol. Perpetual Next says adding renewable hydrogen to the hydrogen already present in biomass derived synthesis gas could allow more of the available biogenic carbon to be converted into biomethanol, increasing product yield.
The chemistry creates a direct connection between hydrogen availability and methanol output. A plant designed around supplementary hydrogen needs reliable control of feed composition, pressure, and flow so that the downstream synthesis process remains within its operating envelope. The companies have not disclosed the proposed delivery pressure, storage arrangement, or physical connection between the two sites.
Locating the projects in the same industrial cluster could reduce the distance over which hydrogen has to be moved. That does not remove the engineering required between production and consumption. Compression, buffering, metering, safety systems, and a transfer route still have to be designed around the operating profiles of both plants if the supply arrangement proceeds.
Lhyfe’s project would produce hydrogen through water electrolysis. Electrolysers use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, making electricity supply, equipment utilisation, and conversion efficiency central to production economics. Industrial demand also affects plant operation because a chemical process may require a more consistent hydrogen flow than renewable generation alone can provide without storage, grid electricity, or another balancing arrangement.
The current agreement does not state how those issues would be resolved. The partners will continue technical and commercial discussions covering the potential supply arrangement and the development needs of each project. Public support is also part of the development case, with Lhyfe noting that large renewable hydrogen projects still depend on supportive market conditions and funding mechanisms.
DeltaNor remains before final investment decision. Perpetual Next appointed Bilfinger as owner’s engineer in September to support further development of DeltaNor and the associated DeltaTorr project, including coordination of technical disciplines and project partners as the company works towards FID.
Perpetual Next has also selected JPB Logistics as its intended storage partner for biomethanol from the Delfzijl development. Those arrangements begin to define interfaces around the proposed production plant, but they do not amount to construction approval or a fixed start date.
The hydrogen MoU adds a potential feedstock interface on the input side. If a binding agreement follows, Lhyfe would gain a large local industrial customer while DeltaNor would secure a defined source of renewable hydrogen that could raise conversion of biogenic carbon into methanol. Both projects would still need to reach their own financing and construction milestones.
European regulation forms part of the commercial background. The revised Renewable Energy Directive increases requirements around renewable fuels of non biological origin in industry. Qualifying hydrogen has to meet defined rules covering its electricity source and greenhouse gas performance, so certification and traceability will influence whether production can count towards regulatory targets.
Those requirements also affect plant operation. Hydrogen produced when electricity does not meet the relevant renewable criteria may not qualify in the same way as certified RFNBO output, depending on the applicable rules and project configuration. Developers therefore have to coordinate physical production with the documentation needed to demonstrate compliance.
The two Delfzijl projects are consequently linked by more than an annual tonnage figure. Their viability depends on electricity supply, electrolyser performance, hydrogen transfer, methanol process integration, certification, and the economics of the final product. The MoU establishes the work needed to test those interfaces before either company commits to a long term offtake structure.
Perpetual Next and Lhyfe have not announced a final hydrogen price, construction schedule, or binding supply volume. The next material milestone will be completion of the technical and commercial assessment and, if the results support both projects, negotiation of a definitive supply agreement.
