NEDERLANDSE AARDOLIE MAATSCHAPPIJ BV

Their core work

Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) is the Netherlands' largest natural gas and oil production company, a 50/50 joint venture between Shell and ExxonMobil. They operate oil and gas fields across the Netherlands, most notably the Groningen gas field, and own extensive subsurface infrastructure — wells, pipelines, and underground storage — that forms the backbone of Dutch energy supply. In H2020 projects, NAM participates as an industrial anchor partner, bringing operational field infrastructure, subsurface expertise, and energy sector scale to research consortia. Their EU project engagement mirrors a company-wide strategic pivot: moving from hydrocarbon extraction toward hydrogen production, sector coupling, and green energy infrastructure — using their existing gas infrastructure as the physical foundation for a hydrogen economy.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

NAM's H2020 footprint tells a clear strategic story in just two projects. Their first engagement (ENSYSTRA, 2017–2021) was as a third-party partner in an MSCA doctoral training network focused on energy systems research — an academic, analytical role with no keywords attached, suggesting limited operational involvement. By 2020, their posture had shifted substantially: HEAVENN (2020–2027) places them at the centre of a concrete hydrogen deployment initiative in Northern Netherlands, with keywords spanning the full hydrogen value chain — sector coupling, CertifHy green certification, industry offtake, transport, and heating. The trajectory is unambiguous: from passive academic partner to active industrial participant in hydrogen infrastructure, driven by the Dutch government's phasedown of Groningen gas extraction and NAM's need to repurpose its infrastructure assets.

NAM is moving from observing the energy transition to actively anchoring it — their gas infrastructure and subsurface assets are being repositioned as hydrogen storage and distribution backbone, making them a high-value industrial partner for any consortium building hydrogen supply chains in Northwest Europe.

How they like to work

NAM never takes a coordinator role — they join consortia as an industrial partner or third party, contributing infrastructure, operational credibility, and market access rather than scientific leadership. Their participation in HEAVENN alongside 61 unique partners across 10 countries signals comfort with large, multi-stakeholder consortia typical of EU Innovation Actions. For a potential partner, this means NAM brings weight and real-world testbed access, but scientific coordination and deliverable management will fall to others.

NAM has connected with 61 unique consortium partners spanning 10 countries — a notably broad network for an organisation with only two H2020 projects, reflecting the large multi-partner structure of the HEAVENN Innovation Action. Their network is concentrated in Northern Europe, consistent with the Northern Netherlands Hydrogen Valley's geographic scope.

What sets them apart

NAM is one of very few private oil and gas operators in EU research consortia that brings actual subsurface infrastructure — not just expertise, but physical wells, pipelines, and storage capacity that can serve as testbeds for hydrogen at scale. In the Northern Netherlands context, they are the incumbent energy infrastructure owner, which gives any hydrogen consortium they join direct access to existing networks that would take years and billions to replicate. For consortium builders targeting industrial-scale hydrogen demonstration, NAM's participation signals project seriousness and provides a rare bridge between legacy fossil infrastructure and the emerging hydrogen economy.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HEAVENN
  A 2020–2027 Innovation Action building one of Europe's first full-scale hydrogen valleys — covering production, distribution, and end-use across industry, transport, and heating — with NAM as an industrial anchor in a 61-partner consortium.
• ENSYSTRA
  An MSCA doctoral training network on energy system transitions where NAM served as an industry third party, an unusual role that demonstrates their early-mover engagement with academic energy research before the hydrogen pivot.