Willemien Terpstra (Gasunie): ‘Setting up new energy systems is the only way’

In the eight months that Terpstra has been at the helm of Gasunie, much has changed in geopolitics. The inauguration of American President Donald Trump caused a major shock in Europe. The message to increase Europe’s independence is becoming increasingly louder. And that added an extra dimension to Gasunie’s mission of facilitating a sustainable energy system. Terpstra knows that haste is of the essence. That is why, at the end of 2024, she and her employees sharpened the strategy. She tells Nikoo Delgoshaie, sector leader power, utilities & renewables at Deloitte, about this strategy, how she wants to get the industry on board and how she grew into her role as CEO. The two women meet at the Gasunie office in The Hague. Terpstra works there regularly, although Groningen, where Gasunie's head office is located, is her permanent home. For Terpstra, her entry to Gasunie feels like coming home. She grew up in Hallum in Friesland and shares the down-to-earth, can-do mentality of her Frisian and Groningen colleagues. It is self-evident that the new CEO likes a challenge. Not only professionally, but also privately. She loves to spend her spare time on the North Sea where she sails a fast catamaran with a friend. During her last holiday in Curaçao, she learned to kitesurf.

Why are you the right woman for this job?
‘Gasunie is building the infrastructure for, among other things, CO₂ and hydrogen. To do this, we need to work together with the industry and listen to the needs of future customers. This process involves new and complex value chains, in which companies run various risks. Thanks to my experience, I understand their perspective: how they look at a business case and what their concerns are. I can make that translation, because I come from the industry and understand them.’

What difference do you want to make as CEO of Gasunie?
‘I want to elevate Gasunie’s position in the energy transition. We are a technical and rational company with clear processes, with logical decision-making based on facts. But facts alone are not enough. It is also important how we convey our story, to make it understandable and to create social support.’

You have not been CEO before. How do you experience your new role?
‘Quite exciting. People suddenly weigh their words differently, while to myself I am still Willemien. As CEO of Gasunie, I suddenly am a public figure. As a result, Gasunie's image is strongly linked to how I come across. I feel that responsibility enormously and had to get used to it in the beginning. I found that more difficult than learning the new business.’

How do you deal with that responsibility?
‘I try to remain true to myself. I show my vulnerability, admit when I find something challenging and regularly ask for feedback. I sometimes honestly say that I do not know everything, but of course I do my best to do the right thing. People appreciate that openness. That gives confidence. At the same time, I am looking for a certain balance: as CEO, it is up to me to provide direction and be clear about our course.’

What did your onboarding look like?
‘I spoke to many people, both internally and externally. I wanted to understand how Gasunie is perceived. What works and what does not. I also went on the road with the technicians. That sometimes led to amusing situations. During a work shadowing day, I had not thought of taking a packed lunch with me. We were on the road the whole day, at the end of which I was almost cross-eyed from hunger. In the end, my colleague shared his sandwiches with me – we had a good laugh about it.’

What is your vision for the transformation of Gasunie?
‘The mission is to work on ‘new energy for a prosperous society.’ We invest in infrastructure for sustainable gases with which we help both households and industry to become more sustainable. The focus of the energy transition is often on increasing wind and solar energy, which, by its nature, is erratic. Its share in the electricity capacity will indeed increase further, but we also need sustainable gases to keep companies running and homes heated. The Dutch energy system currently runs on electricity for twenty percent. The rest is supplied by molecules. Without molecules, our industry cannot become more sustainable. Now, that is still natural gas, in the future hydrogen, green gas and CO2 will become more important. Our network enables this with transport and storage. In short: we can achieve the real benefit of a robust and affordable energy system through a vigorous combination of sustainable gases and sustainable electricity.
This mission is hugely significant to the organization. For a long time, we transported only natural gas, but we will soon offer various energy products. The tricky thing is that these chains have not yet been developed and that there is uncertainty among many industrial customers. Yet setting up new energy systems is the only way. We are at a tipping point: are we going to become more sustainable with or without industry? If industry does not come along, it will be disastrous for the Netherlands and Europe – for our earning capacity, our prosperity and our employment opportunities, and especially for the environment.’

What does the strategy for the coming years look like?
‘We are focusing on four strategic themes. First, the focus is on a reliable energy supply, in which natural gas will remain necessary for the time being – after all, we do not have sufficient buffers of green energy. In the meantime, we are building a new sustainable energy system so that we are ready for new energy sources. Investments of 12 billion are planned up to 2030, two thirds of which are aimed at promoting green prosperity. For example, two years ago we started the construction of a national hydrogen network, which can supply hydrogen to industry in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. We are also participating in WarmtelinQ in South Holland. The underground pipeline will soon make it possible to use heat from the port of Rotterdam to heat 120,000 homes in the region of The Hague/Leiden. We are also investing in the Porthos project. This will capture the CO₂ emissions from industries in the port of Rotterdam and transport them via a pipeline and store them in empty gas fields under the North Sea.
The second strategic theme involves developing an integrated energy system. Ultimately, electricity and sustainable gases must go hand in hand to ensure an affordable and robust system. Electrification alone is not enough; molecules such as hydrogen and green gas will remain crucial in the energy mix.
The third theme focuses on developing new value chains for hydrogen and CO₂. We seek collaboration with industry and other stakeholders to get supply and demand for sustainable energy going. The fourth strategic pillar focuses on the timely realization of large energy projects. Our partners must be able to assume that the infrastructure will be realized, as this is often the first step to making processes more sustainable.
Finally, we strive for a safe, reliable and sustainable energy system. That is the foundation of all strategic themes. For example, we continue to give safety the utmost attention, both for the colleagues who do the work and for our environment. At the same time our focus is also on energy efficiency and circular solutions such as the reuse of materials.’

What is the status of the ambition to make the Netherlands a hydrogen economy?
‘The energy transition is delayed, and that also applies to hydrogen projects. Permits are complex, and nitrogen regulations as well as increased material and personnel costs pose additional challenges. Nevertheless, we are persevering, because the need and ambition remain high. In the port of Rotterdam, we are working on the construction of the Dutch hydrogen network, which should be operational in 2026. The industrial regions along the coast will follow by 2030 at the latest, and the connections with Germany and Belgium are expected to be ready around 2032. The ‘backbone’ of the hydrogen network will be realized, just a little later than planned. Hydrogen development is proceeding slower than expected everywhere, which means that we are not yet out of step with other countries.’

Green hydrogen is not yet widely available and is expensive. How do we make production profitable and affordable for industry?
‘Green hydrogen is still in its infancy, just as was the case for offshore wind at the time. Thanks to long-term investments and a clear vision, offshore wind is now an important part of our energy supply. We must also seize that opportunity with hydrogen. We currently switch off wind turbines and solar parks when there is a surplus of electricity – because there is insufficient demand or because the electricity grid cannot handle it. This already happens for about 1,500 hours per year; that is more than two months. By converting green energy into hydrogen, we can utilize more sustainable electricity and create flexibility in the energy system. Hydrogen is cheaper to transport than electricity while also easier to store. This allows you to get more energy from existing infrastructure and increase the security of supply. This can save us around 5 to 11 billion euros per year. Of course, this requires substantial investments in the entire value chain. Fortunately, the thinking around industrial policy is changing in Europe. For a long time, little attention was paid to industry – it was labelled primarily as polluting. Partly thanks to former ECB President Mario Draghi, who advocates for a stronger competitive position for Europe, the realisation that we desperately need industry is growing. Not only for the energy transition, but also to increase our autonomy and become less dependent. The challenge is to organize the transition in a pragmatic way, so that we can become more sustainable while preserving our industry.’

What do you mean by a pragmatic approach?
‘Often, rules are drawn up at an early stage that make sustainability unnecessarily complicated and expensive. That frustrates market forces. Take the Renewable Energy Directive. According to this European directive, green hydrogen must be produced exclusively with newly developed sustainably generated electricity, we are not allowed to use existing green electricity. It should not be so rigid, let us first start using hydrogen more. When we wanted to encourage the sale of electric cars, it was not required for the cars to run on green electricity alone.’

How do we change obstructive preconditions? How do we ensure that the Netherlands does not miss the boat as a hydrogen economy?
‘Complaining about what is wrong does not help us move forward. We want to mainly provide insight into where the bottlenecks are and what is needed to accelerate the energy transition. Together with industry, we contribute concrete solutions. Lessons can be learned from the natural gas transition in the 1960s. At that time, the Netherlands switched from coal to natural gas in ten years. This was partly because natural gas was designated as strategically important, and permits were therefore issued more quickly. The government is considering doing the same for electrification projects. Our plea is to also make this possible for the construction of hydrogen and CO₂ networks. The Netherlands has a strong starting position with good infrastructure, a large industry and extensive knowledge. But if we do not create attractive preconditions, investments will shift to Germany or Belgium. This is happening, for example, because these countries have partly waived the network costs for hydrogen production, while the Netherlands is imposing additional costs.
It is important that the Netherlands actively strives to become an important hydrogen hub. If we bring those flows here, our energy system will become more affordable. More volume in existing infrastructure means lower costs and a more efficient value chain. We must realise that the situation is different from that of natural gas at the time. At that time, the world came to the Netherlands because of our large gas production. Hydrogen and CO₂ flows do not necessarily have to go via the Netherlands.’

How does Gasunie work together with industry and other stakeholders?
‘We see ourselves as the connector in the energy system. We bring together industrial clusters and engage in discussions with market players. We want to understand what needs there are. What is needed to better align supply and demand. Gasunie is a neutral party and has an impactful role in the energy transition. A good example is Porthos, the project for CO₂ transport and storage that we are carrying out together with the Port of Rotterdam and Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN). Originally, the market was supposed to take the initiative, but that did not happen. Not only because industry is struggling financially, but also because CO₂ transport and storage is not their core business. Moreover, if each party had to arrange it separately, that would have led to an inefficient system. That is why we have taken up the challenge and are building a larger pipeline than companies currently need. This will allow other customers to connect later. This lowers the threshold and makes the system scalable. Of course, Gasunie cannot bear every risk. We are looking for a good balance between the market, the government and our own investments.’

What is Gasunie's strength in this transition?
‘We are a robust organisation with a strong reputation. Our employees like to ‘roll up their sleeves and do it.’ Shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we showed that we can act quickly. In six months, we built LNG terminals and were able to import extra gas. That was crucial for the energy security of the Netherlands.’

How is the transformation taking shape within Gasunie?
‘The transformation starts with the realisation that new value chains require a different culture. This means that our technical expertise and focus on energy security will of course remain but that we will also become more flexible and enterprising. As an organisation, we are increasingly looking to the outside world: to the needs of our customers and to other parties in the future energy system. Changing and more complex value chains require new ways of thinking and working together. And that this is taking shape is evident from the fact that we have been able to hire more than 1,000 people despite the tight labour market. People are keen to contribute to our mission.’

What would you like to say to directors and supervisors?
‘Tremendously much is happening in the energy transition, yet public opinion is often negative: it is going too slowly and costs too much. My appeal to the business community is to keep sharing the positive examples. Show what steps have already been taken. Indicate what is needed to move forward. The industry is not used to that; for a long time speaking out about industrial policy was not appreciated. That time is over. We need to have a social debate and make it clear why industry and energy supply are crucial for our economy and employment.’

Interview by Nikoo Delgoshaie, Partner and Power, Utilities & Renewal Lead at Deloitte Netherlands. Published in Management Scope 04 2025.