Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI)
between
the Government of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
and
the Government of the Netherlands
on cooperation regarding the cross-border connection of pipeline infrastructure of CO2
and hydrogen in the Delta Rhine Corridor (DRC) project

The Government of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Government of the Netherlands
(hereinafter referred to individually as a “Participant” and collectively as the “Participants”),
Appreciate the long-standing bilateral relationship between the State of North-Rhine Westphalia and
the Netherlands and their cooperation in the fields of hydrogen and carbon management;
Emphasize the importance of decarbonizing the industry, securing the competitiveness of industrial
clusters, attracting innovation and investment, facilitating employment and achieving national and
European climate goals;
Reiterate the need for energy infrastructure to reach these goals in a timely and efficient manner;
Recognize that the Delta Rhine Corridor (DRC) will be an important part of the future European
hydrogen and carbon management network;
Facilitate an even stronger working relationship between the concerned ministries to support the
ambitious and timely realization of the Delta Rhine Corridor and thereby contributing to the integration of cross border public governance of the DRC project.
Strongly encourage the private parties who have committed to construct and deploy the Delta Rhine
Corridor to come to an understanding regarding their intentions and commitments and to develop
the final routings of the Delta Rhine Corridor;
Refer to the trilateral SustPipe Initiative signed by the governments of North Rhine-Westphalia, Flanders and the Netherlands in 2021; and
Recognize the close German-Dutch cooperation on hydrogen at Federal level, as stated in the March
2023 Joint Government Declaration and the November 2023 Joint Declaration of Intent on Hydrogen
Cooperation.
They have thus come to the following understanding:

Paragraph 1 - Objective and status
(1) The objective of this JDI is to strengthen and build on the already established cooperation between the Participants by supporting and encouraging a timely construction and deployment of the
Delta Rhine Corridor in order to provide for cross-border transportation of CO2 and hydrogen with
the purpose of decarbonizing the industry.
(2) This JDI is not legally binding and does not create any rights or obligations under international
law.
(3) Each Participant intends to conduct the cooperation under this JDI subject to all applicable laws
and regulations, recognizing responsibilities and provisions of the relevant European and national
legal frameworks.
(4) The Delta Rhine Corridor (DRC) connects industrial clusters in Rotterdam, Moerdijk and Venlo
with industry in North Rhine-Westphalia and, eventually, Rhineland-Palatinate. In its current scope,

the project includes a cross-border hydrogen- and a cross-border CO2-pipeline. On the Dutch side,
the scope includes additional energy infrastructure connections.
(5) The project is of national interest in the Netherlands; fast track procedures on planning and
permitting are already in place. Both the CO2 pipeline and the hydrogen pipeline are currently under
consideration by the European Commission to receive Project of Common Interest (PCI) status. The
PCI status results in accelerated planning and permitting and qualifies for application for funding
under the Connecting Europe Facility.

Paragraph 2 - Areas of cooperation
The Participants have identified the following subject to develop cooperation within their respective
range of tasks and competences:
Supporting and facilitating the realization of the Delta Rhine Corridor, executed by private parties
within an ambitious timeframe.

Paragraph 3 - Form of cooperation
This JDI provides a solid foundation for public support for the timely realization of the Delta Rhine
Corridor in the Netherlands and Germany. In this regard, the forms of cooperation under this JDI
may include the following:
(a) Regularly exchanging on project progress, indicating and, where possible, aligning project milestones and planning.
(b) Working towards a joint cross-border project organization to facilitate development of the Delta
Rhine Corridor within an ambitious timeframe in consultation with the private project parties, other
responsible authorities and relevant stakeholders.
(c) Pro-actively informing each other on progress of planning and permitting procedures, working
together in consulting the general public on both sides of the border and to work out ideas to accelerate planning and permitting procedures.
(d) Discussing and evaluating topics related to the DRC project but beyond its current scope, e.g.,
the transport of hydrogen derivatives.
(e) Other forms of cooperation as the Participants may jointly decide to include in their operational
agenda.

Paragraph 4 - Monitoring
(1) A coordinated working group will follow project development by bringing together experts for
energy infrastructure and related policy areas from the responsible ministries in North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands, with participation in an observing function of both the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and the German Energy Agency (dena). They will
do so in consultation with relevant stakeholders and by exploiting in particular the already existing
working group on the DRC between the relevant ministries, which intends to meet twice a year.
(2) The objective of this working group will be to promote realization of the objective as laid down
under paragraph 1 of this JDI.
(3) The exchange within this working group will be subject to evaluation at the next joint governmental meetings of the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia.
(4) The Participants aim at sufficient staffing of concerned planning and permitting authorities to
carry out the necessary procedures expeditiously.

Paragraph 5 - Costs
Each Participant will bear its own costs associated with the cooperative activities intended under this
Joint Declaration of Intent, unless the Participants decide otherwise in writing.

Paragraph 6 - Private parties
The application on spatial planning, application on approval, construction and deployment of the
Delta Rhine Corridor are essentially a commitment made by private parties, which the Participants
will support.

Paragraph 7 - Limitations to the cooperation
The scope of this JDI is limited to the cross-border transportation of CO2 and hydrogen along the
final routes of the Delta Rhine Corridor. The cooperation should not limit the ability of the Participants
to construct, deploy or in any other way implement and execute its own laws and policies with regard
to the energy infrastructure on its own territory.

Paragraph 8 - Amendments and termination
At any time, a Participant may propose amendments to the Joint Declaration of Intent, which may
be approved by mutual written consent.
At any time, a Participant may terminate this Joint Declaration of Intent by means of a three (3)
month written notice to the other Participant. The Participants will seek to finalize the activities already under implementation. The termination of this Joint Declaration of Intent will not affect any
on-going activities under this Joint Declaration of Intent, unless otherwise decided by the Participants
Any dispute arising from the interpretation or implementation of this Joint Declaration of Intent will
be resolved through consultations between the Participants.

Paragraph 9 - Final provisions
This Joint Declaration of Intent will come into effect on the date of signature and will be applied until
the Delta Rhine Corridor is in operation.
Signed in Duisburg on the 14th of November 2023 in duplicate in the English language.

For the Government of the Netherlands

For the Government of the State of North RhineWestphalia

Hans Vijlbrief

Mona Neubaur

State Secretary of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy

Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate
Action and Energy