On August 22, 2025, TNO (Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research) officially unveiled its cutting-edge liquid hydrogen testing facility in Ypenburg, The Hague, marking a significant milestone in Europe’s hydrogen infrastructure.
What Makes the Facility Special
This new hub is more than just another laboratory; it offers comprehensive, real-world testing capabilities for liquid hydrogen (LH₂) applications, supported by rigorous safety systems. Key features include:
- Robust leak-detection mechanisms, controlled ventilation, and specialised high-altitude vent stacks to ensure safe release of any escaping hydrogen.
- Capability to test engines, valves, seals, composite tanks, and pipelines under cryogenic conditions as low as –253 °C, a full 57 °C below liquid nitrogen temperatures that TNO previously worked with.
- A controlled environment for comprehensive mechanical testing, watching for wear, ageing, and the behaviour of valves under dynamic loads, pressure swings, and vibrations.
Already demonstrating its potential, TU Delft’s AeroDelft student team achieved a historic milestone: they tested an electric aircraft propulsion system powered by liquid hydrogen. This system successfully ran a fuel-cell-driven propeller using evaporated LH₂, marking the first time a student team has flown an electric propulsion system powered by liquid hydrogen. AeroDelft is now retrofitting a four-seater aircraft, aiming for a liquid hydrogen–powered flight next year.
Moreover, the facility is facilitating maritime innovation: TU Delft’s Hydro Motion team is validating cryogenic tank construction and integration within a liquid hydrogen boat’s energy system.
These hubs are strategically positioned on Spain’s planned Hydrogen Backbone, a 2,600 km pipeline network, and linked to the H₂Med corridor, which will connect the Iberian Peninsula with France and ultimately northern Europe.
Impact on the European Hydrogen Economy
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1. Accelerated Certification & Commercialisation
A central barrier to LH₂ deployment has been the absence of specialised testbeds. TNO’s facility will dramatically accelerate validation, engineering, and certification of liquid hydrogen technologies, reducing time-to-market for aviation, shipping, energy storage, and industrial applications.
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2. Driving Innovation Across Sectors
By supporting student teams and established researchers alike, from aeronautics to maritime engineering, TNO is cultivating innovation that can spill over into industry. This inclusive approach fuels cross-sector breakthroughs, fostering collaborations across academia, startups, and industrial players.
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3. Enhancing Europe’s Strategic Competitiveness
Liquid hydrogen is expected to play a crucial role in decarbonising hard-to-electrify sectors like aviation and shipping. The new facility positions Europe, and especially the Netherlands, as a leader in LH₂ technology development, helping the continent compete globally.
Future large-scale LH₂ adoption is already underway: for instance, the Port of Rotterdam is preparing for LH₂ imports by 2028, and maritime LH₂ infrastructure is being explored across the region.
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4. Complementing Other Hydrogen Value Chain Developments
TNO is deeply embedded in Europe’s hydrogen ecosystem:
- The Hydrohub MegaWatt Test Centre in Groningen enables industrial-scale electrolysis testing and scaling.
- The HyScaling initiative, involving TNO and ISPT, targets 5 GW of green hydrogen electrolysis capacity in the Netherlands by 2030, and aims to lower production costs by 25–30 %.
- Collaborations with partners like Avantium (for PEM electrolyser testing stations), Renewable Carbon and Elcogen (advancing solid oxide technology) Elcogen reinforce Europe’s leadership.
Together, these efforts build a coherent ecosystem: from hydrogen production to application and certification.
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5. Policy and Investment Implications
Germany and the UK are developing hydrogen corridors; Europe targets growth from 10 Mt of green hydrogen in 2030 to potentially 25 Mt by 2040, promoting a robust, investment-ready green hydrogen strategy.
TNO’s facility bolsters this trajectory, offering a tangible foundation for regulatory frameworks, standards development, and confidence-building among regulators, funders, and investors.
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6. System-Wide Energy Impacts
Large-scale hydrogen deployment impacts grid infrastructure and energy markets. While hydrogen increases electricity demand, it also introduces flexibility—potentially moderating power price volatility and supporting system resilience during peak periods.
TNO’s new liquid hydrogen testing facility in Ypenburg sets a transformative precedent. It bridges critical gaps in certification, innovation, and commercialisation, not only for the Netherlands but for Europe as a whole. With downstream applications ranging from aviation and maritime to industrial and defence sectors, the facility could herald a new era of hydrogen-powered solutions and fast-track Europe’s journey toward carbon neutrality.
The post TNO Opens State-of-the-Art Liquid Hydrogen Testing Facility in Ypenburg: A Major Boost for the European Hydrogen Economy first appeared on Haush.