The social and economic benefits of salt production
1 September 2022
Salt from our own Dutch soil is an irreplaceable and essential raw material. It is the basis for many of the products we use every day, and the sustainable technologies of the future are also becoming increasingly dependent on Dutch salt. Consultancy firm Roland Berger mapped out the social and economic benefits of salt production in the Netherlands.
The importance of salt for the Netherlands
260 million years ago the Zechstein Sea dried up, a sea to which the Netherlands owes its rock salt layer. At a number of places, the layer is easily accessible for safe, responsible and sustainable salt extraction. The Dutch salt that is extracted is very pure and therefore very suitable for chemical applications. Chemical applications that we find in products we use every day. Salt extraction in the Netherlands ensures that the Netherlands and Western Europe always have access to this indispensable raw material for our industry and society.
The importance of salt in our daily lives
We all use salt and products made with salt. And this is only increasing. The sustainable products of the future rely even more on salt as a strategic material. Transition accelerators such as solar panels, batteries, insulation materials, LED lights and wind turbines are developed using salt. The green hydrogen, that comes into existence during Nobian's chlor-alkali process is the most promising emission-free fuel to eventually take the place of natural gas in the Netherlands. And the caverns created by salt extraction are suitable for safely storing the large quantities of hydrogen that the Netherlands will need in the future.
For local residents
The safety of salt production is important for the Netherlands, for us and certainly for the people who live in the areas where salt is extracted. Salt has been extracted from Dutch soil for over a hundred years and it is safe. With constant supervision and precautionary measures by responsible companies and the Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen (SodM), the risks are minimal according to experts.
Dutch salt. As ordinary as it seems, yet so important to our existence. To be able to make all kinds of products, to make our world a little greener. We cannot do without salt. The Netherlands cannot do without salt.
Dutch salt is simply indispensable.
