Green funerals | Dutch crematorium plans to switch from natural gas to hydrogen
Crematoria Twente has proposed cutting shareholder dividends to invest in 'world first' H2 oven
Dutch funeral services firm Crematoria Twente is reportedly due to take a final investment decision on switching from using natural gas to hydrogen this year — but the costs could require it to withhold shareholder dividends in order to pay for the project.
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Crematoria Twente plans to replace one of its two ovens at the Enschede crematorium in the Dutch village of Usselo, in order to provide a fossil-fuel-free option for mourners.
However, the company, which has been studying the feasibility of using green hydrogen since late 2021, expects that hydrogen fuel would cost 2.5 times as much as natural gas — potentially an optimistic estimate.
As such, Crematoria Twente reportedly anticipates drawing on subsidies to cover the extra operating costs of purchasing hydrogen over natural gas.
Fellow Dutch funeral services company Respectrum had also commissioned studies on switching its crematoria to run on green hydrogen, but ultimately concluded that this would not be feasible in the short term.
Crematoria Twente is also considering investment into another innovative but high-cost funeral method: resomation, where human remains are dissolved in a potassium hydroxide solution. As such, depending on demand, Crematoria Twente may be faced with the choice of putting its profits towards one practice or the other.
“We have to answer the question of whether we want to offer this to people,” said Tommassen. “It is very different from cremation. It is unclear how many people want to use it.
“Whether it is possible to invest in hydrogen and resomation must be investigated.”
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