EU Green Deal author gets job for gas network – POLITICO

Gasunie’s Transition and Samsom’s AppointmentGasunie’s Transition and Samsom’s Appointment Gasunie, a Dutch gas transportation company, has recently shifted its focus towards investing in hydrogen and playing a vital role in the transition to sustainable energy. Despite mainly trading in fossil fuels in the past, the company aims to leverage its infrastructure to accelerate the transition. Coen Samsom, a former Green Party activist and Labour Party leader, was appointed as an advisor to Gasunie. He believes that the company can contribute to the energy transition by adapting its existing network for hydrogen, green gas, heat, and CO2. Tim van der Hagen, Gasunie’s vice-chairman of the board, emphasized Samsom’s suitability to assist in realizing the company’s strategic ambitions, especially in light of its key role in the energy transition. Gasunie has established a new floating liquefied natural gas terminal to supplement Dutch gas supplies cut off by Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. Gasunie’s website highlights the company’s belief that its current network can be repurposed for renewable energy sources, emphasizing Samsom’s statement on the network’s adaptability. Despite his background in environmental activism, Samsom believes Gasunie can contribute positively to the transition to sustainable energy.

When asked by POLITICO whether he was concerned about appearing to be leaving a key green policy post to advise a company that currently mainly trades in fossil fuels, Samsom said: “Gasunie does not trade or own a single molecule of gas. But they play an important role in providing the infrastructure to accelerate the transition to a sustainable energy system.”

Gasunie, which manages the Dutch gas transport pipelines, recently switched to investing in hydrogen. This month, the state-owned company was tasked with connecting the country’s future hydrogen network with Belgium and Germany.

The company has also set up a new floating liquefied natural gas terminal in 2022 to help replace Dutch gas supplies that were cut off by Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement on Gasunie’s website, Samsom says that the current network “can be adapted in a smart way for hydrogen, green gas, heat and CO2.”

Tim van der Hagen, vice-chairman of the board, said Samsom, a former Greenpeace activist and former leader of the Labour Party, was “ideally suited to make a significant contribution to realising Gasunie’s strategic ambitions, especially now that the company is playing a key role in the energy transition.”