The Netherlands will hold a tender for a 500MW offshore electrolyser dedicated to green hydrogen production linked to wind, the Dutch government said Monday.

The facility will be in the North of Wadden Islands offshore wind zone, previously earmarked for a turbine array to export power but now confirmed as a dedicated plant for renewable H2 that the Dutch claimed could be world’s largest when up and running by 2031.

The area was chosen because hydrogen produced has the potential to be fed into an existing pipeline of gas infrastructure operator Gasunie for onward distribution into the Dutch network, the first time this will have been done, said the nation’s energy ministry.