PORT, HARBOUR & MARINE CONSTRUCTION Exporting countries have agreed to work with the port of Rotterdam and a group of companies to boost hydrogen production. The Port of Rotterdam has made the ambitious claim that it can supply northwest Europe with 4.6 million tonnes of hydrogen a year by 2030 - ‘considerably more than expected’. Working with 70 major companies, authorities and other ports, including the likes of Duisport, Shell, Thyssenkrupp, RWE and Eon, port spokesman Sjaak Poppe said in a statement that the amount of hydrogen had been determined on the basis of specific projects and plans that companies and exporting countries were already working on. ”Several companies are working on concrete projects aimed at launching large-scale production of electrolytic hydrogen powered by North Sea wind power between 2024 and 2026,” Poppe said. ”Together, all of the projects and plans would be good for 2.5GW of electrolysis by 2030 and produce 0.25 Mt of green hydrogen. A project to produce low-carbon hydrogen from refinery gas is also under way. This would mean a total of 0.6 Mt of hydrogen could be produced locally by 2030.” To supply end-users in northwest Europe
HYDROGEN PLANS LAID OUT BY ROTTERDAM
8 Port of Rotterdam
with such large volumes of hydrogen will necessitate a pipeline infrastructure, which will begin within coastal industrial clusters and between ports and inland industrial clusters, the statement says. “This will allow us to transport hydrogen from Rotterdam to steel, chemical, cement and industries at large as well as to filling stations to fuel trucks and barges,” Poppe says.
While the project is undertaken, energy will still need to be imported because Europe does not have the capacity to produce enough renewable energy to meet 2030 and 2050 targets. “The sooner Europe starts replacing imports of oil, gas and coal with imports of green and low carbon energy, the sooner it will achieve European climate and energy independence objectives,” the statement says. There are two ‘crucial conditions’ to meet before goals can be achieved - the certification of hydrogen to ensure importing hydrogen adds value; and the closing of the cost gap between renewables and lowcarbon hydrogen and carbon dioxide-emitting alternatives, ie fossil fuels. “We are convinced that together we can accelerate the development of the hydrogen economy in Rotterdam and NW Europe,” says Poppe’s statement. ”Current efforts are directed at further detailing plans to organise and implement all parts of the supply chain.”
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JUNE 2022 | 65
