Green deal 2040 - CO2 neutral

Down with the gas, all electric. The power of our gas grid is 10 times that of the electricity grid. If we save 60% on gas energy, the capacity of the electricity network still has to be increased four times. Who is going to pay for that and where are we going to put it? What do we do in windless, foggy weather in January? Will we then go to Putin, from whom we will buy sustainable nuclear power and CO2 gas via Nordstream? Delivery guaranteed; just ask the Ukrainians. 

Solution: green hydrogen generated directly from water by means of desert electricity. Transport it by ship to Rotterdam, store it in the empty natural gas cavities and distribute it via the most advanced welded gas grid in the world (which happens to be in the Netherlands). Conversion for horticulturalists to geothermal heat, heat pumps, etc. is not necessary: supply them with CO2 zero gas! Existing installations will be maintained. That is sustainability.

Hydrogen gas will pop, but so will three Tesla's on fire next to each other in a parking garage. E-cars sustainable? Nah. They are only CO2 neutral after the assembly line. The cobalt from the battery comes from Congolese-Chinese mines. What about working conditions and waste production there? We don't talk about that. 

Sustainability costs money. If we do it right, we can make a lot of money with it. We have to dare, keep going. Not all existing gas structures will be demolished without a return. No more offshore wind farms in the North Sea (and fishermen leaving) and farmers and construction workers in the museum. 

There are billions of gas networks in the Netherlands. How much does a fourfold increase in the electricity grid or the back-up systems cost if you don't want a clean-up operation due to a lack of wind and sun? Add all that up and make an assessment. Green hydrogen then turns out to be the financial solution.

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Herman Bessels is architect NBA at Bessels Architekten & ingenieurs BV