Underground in Rotterdam, the hydrogen network is taking shape
A shaft twenty-five metres deep. Pipes eighteen metres long that cannot be lowered in one piece. So they are cut in half, welded back together underground, and pulled through. This is how construction progressed in Rotterdam on the first section of the national hydrogen network: 32 kilometres of pipeline, right through the port area, ready for industrial connections.
Building in a crowded underground
The Port of Rotterdam is one of the most congested underground environments in the Netherlands. Cables, pipelines, tunnels and railway lines constantly intersect. At the same time, work had to continue, while carefully taking account of the surrounding area and nature.
'Everyone has their own interests,' says environmental manager Mark Berghuis. 'We take those into account. But at the same time, you still have an assignment to deliver. That’s where the tension lies in a project like this.'
No straight line from A to B
The construction involved forty crossings, each with its own requirements and time windows. At one railway crossing, for example, there was only a single opportunity: 52 hours to open the track, install the pipeline and restore everything again. In other locations, work was carried out just forty centimetres away from an existing pipeline.
'Each time, you had to reassess the situation: what’s already there, what’s possible here, and how are we going to execute it?' says project manager Gerben Kamphuis of contractor Hanab.
A puzzle beneath the ground
It is precisely this complexity that defines the achievement. Not only the installation of the pipeline itself, but especially the cooperation and constant adaptation to what was encountered along the route. 'Moments like this show what flexibility in execution and strong planning can achieve together,' says Jos van Ginneken, lead engineer at Gasunie.
'To stay on schedule, every link in the chain matters,' adds site supervisor Raymond Cohen. 'From design through to execution. When everyone does their job well, this is what you can deliver.'
The start of a national hydrogen network
With the commissioning of the Rotterdam section, a key part of the national hydrogen network is now in place. A network that connects industrial clusters and helps companies to decarbonise.
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