HYDROGEN HUB DEVELOPMENT
HYDROGEN PIONEER The Port of Rotterdam has pioneering status in developing the hard and soft infrastructure necessary to fulfil the role of a European hydrogen hub
Source: Port of Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam Authority is at the forefront of efforts to harness carbon free hydrogen fuels and exploit the related potential new business opportunities. One strong manifestation of this is its worldwide initiative to secure hydrogen imports. The port has established strong links with Spain in this respect but in addition Nico van Dooren, Director of New Business, Port of Rotterdam Authority, has travelled to diverse countries including Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Canada, the USA and Australia with the realisation of this goal in mind. Spain is a source that has maturing plans for hydrogen production – as identified in its Road Map Hydrogen – and is expected to be an early source of hydrogen supply. Supplies from foreign sources will be in addition to hydrogen generated by the construction of five so-called electrolysers – plants which utilise electricity produced by North Sea wind farms together with water to produce clean hydrogen. The electrolysers, located on reclaimed land in Rotterdam’s outer port area – the Maasvlakte – will be built by Shell, BP, Uniper and Air Liquide with grid operator Tennet delivering part of the electricity via cable. Against a background of wide-ranging changes in energy supply lines due to Russia attacking the Ukraine and the resulting sanctions environment, the Port of Rotterdam Authority recognises that ‘home-grown’ arrangements for sourcing hydrogen will not be sufficient to meet demand: for the Netherlands and the hinterland of the port that extends into neighbouring Germany. Overall, the port’s ambition is to produce hydrogen for Rotterdam-based industries, The Netherlands in general and to fulfil the role of a logistics hub for European hydrogen economies. Indicative of this, the port already collaborates with Shell, steel producer ThyssenKrupp and energy producer RWE for hydrogen transportation into Germany.
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The plan is for European, Dutch and German financial support to be leveraged in order to connect the inland port areas Moerdijk and Limburg as part of the development of the distribution network. In overall terms, Rotterdam’s hydrogen hub development plans also serve to complement the European Commission’s recently revised plans which raise the original forecast import volume of hydrogen from 5.6 mega tonnes in 2030 to 20 mega tonnes in 2050.
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The European Commission has raised hydrogen import targets from 5.6 mega tonnes in 2030 to 20 mega tonnes in 2050 HYDROGEN EXCHANGE In soft infrastructure terms, to support the hydrogen sector initiative, it is notable that the Port of Rotterdam Authority has embarked on a project, together with partners, to establish a ‘Hydrogen Exchange’ using the structure of existing electricity and gas exchanges. As the Port of Rotterdam explains: “Research into the practical setup of a hydrogen exchange in the Netherlands has clarified the products and conditions that will be required to create trade for hydrogen. They include hydrogen certification, an index that would make prices transparent, a spot market and the development of trading instruments to balance the physical hydrogen network and to store the gas. “All this,” the port notes, “was revealed by research conducted by Bert den Ouden on behalf of Gasunie and the port authorities of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Groningen and North Sea Port, in consultation with market players and governments.”
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