PEH II confirms central role of energy storage in spatial main structure

The Energy Main Structure Plan II (PEH II) determines where space in the Netherlands must be reserved for energy infrastructure, such as batteries, pipelines, hydrogen installations and heating networks. The PEH II start-up note that was made public in June 2025 marks a clear step: energy storage is recognized in policy and spatial terms as essential for system flexibility and security of supply.

What is the PEH 2?

The PEH works closely with two other major government plans. The first is the National Energy System Plan (NPE), which describes which energy sources we will need in the future, such as wind, sun, hydrogen or heat. The second is the Spatial Planning Memorandum, which sets out the national vision of how the Netherlands should physically look, with attention to housing, nature, economy and energy. Where the NPE determines the substantive course and the Spatial Planning Memorandum provides the overarching policy, the PEH translates these goals into concrete choices on the map. This creates coherence between what we want, what is needed and where it should all come.

Battery storage explicitly recognized

Large-scale system batteries with a capacity of more than 100 megawatts remain explicitly named in PEH II. The first PEH already established that the spatial demand for batteries is high. PEH II will further investigate where these batteries can best be spatially integrated and how they contribute to system flexibility, for example by absorbing peaks in supply and demand. In addition, system variants will be analysed in which battery storage plays a dominant role alongside other flexibility options.

Heat storage as a new building block

An important addition in PEH II is the introduction of heat as a new component of the energy system. The focus here is on supra-regional heat networks, power-to-heat, and heat buffers. These buffers serve both for seasonal storage and for day/night buffering. The spatial consequences and system impact of these forms of storage are fully included in the analyses.

Building on hydrogen infrastructure

In the field of hydrogen, PEH II continues the line from PEH I. The program continues to focus on electrolysis installations larger than 100 megawatts, underground storage, and hydrogen pipelines of national importance. New is the attention for preferred locations for import terminals, expansion of the pipeline infrastructure, and the spatial and safety aspects of large-scale hydrogen supply. The clustering of hydrogen production at offshore wind landings is seen as spatially efficient, because it limits the required infrastructure.

Adaptive planning: reserving space without lock-ins

Instead of focusing on one fixed vision of the future, PEH II works with multiple scenarios towards 2040 and 2050. These scenarios explore, among other things, variants with a dominant role for battery storage, strong use of hydrogen, and the expansion of heat storage. This prevents lock-in and creates space for adaptive planning. The program also aims to identify preferred areas for storage technologies, so that projects can be realized more quickly within the legal framework of the Environment Act.

Planning

The coming years will be marked by further elaboration:

• The draft Spatial Policy Memorandum, which sets out the major spatial choices for the Netherlands, will be published in the summer of 2025.
• The research plan for PEH II will be published in the autumn of 2025, which will specify exactly what will be investigated and how the public will be involved.
• In 2026, the evaluation of PEH I will take place, which will examine how the programme works in practice and where improvements are possible.
• The main guidelines for PEH II will also be published in 2026, containing the first guiding choices for the new energy main structure.
• The design of PEH II, including substantiation and effects, will be presented at the beginning of 2028, after which a formal consultation round will follow.
• At the end of 2028, both the final PEH II and the updated National Energy System Plan (NPE) will be adopted by the cabinet.

In addition, PEH II will now become part of the Climate and Energy Memorandum every year, so that current insights into energy storage are structurally included in national policy.