Ad van Wijk
Ad van Wijk, emeritus professor of Future Energy Systems at TU Delft, is not an outsider. He advises governments, contributes to hydrogen strategies, and has been involved in plans that Tata Steel now draws upon. That is precisely why his tone is measured. No slogans, no promises. He speaks about scale, costs, and ownership — about what an energy system can and cannot sustain.
“Electricity is regional,” he says. “Molecules can be transported.”
That distinction lies at the core of his argument. Solar and wind energy are abundant, but rarely where demand is highest. In the Netherlands, space is scarce and expensive; the population is dense. Elsewhere — in North Africa or the Middle East — this is different. “There, electricity can be produced for one and a half to two cents per kilowatt-hour. Here, you pay four times as much.” That energy is not used locally. Instead, it is converted into hydrogen — not because it is efficient, but because it enables transport and storage.
For Van Wijk, hydrogen is not a miracle solution, but logistics: a carrier that makes cheap energy globally tradable. “A pipeline transports ten times more energy than a cable. Storage in salt caverns is a hundred times cheaper than batteries.” Without hydrogen, the energy transition remains local, vulnerable, and expensive.
The same applies to steel production.
Technically, Van Wijk sees few barriers. Direct-reduction plants have existed for decades and currently run on natural gas. They are designed to transition to hydrogen later. “The technology exists. No fundamental breakthrough is required.” The issue lies elsewhere: timing, costs, and priorities. Green hydrogen is scarce and expensive. That is why he advocates a phased approach: first natural gas, then hydrogen. “Not ideal, but it allows you to build the infrastructure. Without that step, scaling up is impossible.”
On Tata Steel, he is outspoken but not ideological. He knows the plans, worked on them, understands the logic — yet questions the intent. “We do not believe Tata’s priority is to build a clean plant here.” While the Netherlands negotiates billions in public support, new steel plants are being built in India every few years. “With money earned here.” The Dutch site is left behind with outdated installations and deferred maintenance.
According to Van Wijk, this is not a technical issue but a question of ownership. “If the government invests billions, there must be control in return.” Without public oversight, a familiar pattern emerges: investments are made, while the core remains elsewhere. “You mainly take on the pollution.”
Still, he sees more than a problem in IJmuiden. Its location is strategic: direct access to the North Sea, a deep-sea port, existing infrastructure. “You could build an integrated wind industry there — towers, foundations, assembly.” Hot steel can be processed immediately, without transport or reheating. That requires a different kind of steel — thick plate steel — less prestigious in a traditional sense, but crucial for the energy transition. “That’s how you change the business model.”
This requires political choices. Europe is fragmented, slow, risk-averse. China develops technology and production simultaneously; Europe perfects first and then concludes it is too expensive. “Then you are always too late.”
For Tata Steel, his message is disarmingly simple. Hydrogen can do a lot, but it cannot compensate for a lack of control. Without clear public governance, the transition remains dependent on decisions made elsewhere. “If you do it halfway,” he says, “you’ll lose your money faster than if you do it properly.”