An international consortium of shipping companies, under the name Bornholm Bunker Hub, envisions making the Danish island of Bornholm a green bunker hub in the Baltic, where ships can refuel with sustainable fuels.
The Bornholm Bunker Hub consortium, including Danish companies Ørsted, Haldor Topsøe, Bunker Holding and Molslinjen, as well as Wärtsilä, Rambøll, Bureau Veritas and Port of Roenne, has just launched a feasibility study to set out the financial potential for supplying sustainable fuels in the Baltic Sea – produced using offshore wind energy.
The project will investigate how local Power-to-X can support the need for sustainable fuels for the more than 60,000 ships that pass Bornholm in the middle of the Baltic Sea every year.
In order to accelerate the maritime energy transition, it is crucial to develop not only propulsion technology, but also the availability of green fuels for shipping. The Bornholm project is bringing together all relevant stakeholders to make this happen,
…said Gijsbert de Jong, Marine Chief Executive Nordics at Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore.
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The launch of the Bornholm Bunker Hub comes just a few weeks after the Danish government’s growth team on Bornholm recommended that a study of Bornholm as a green transport hub in the Baltic Sea should be carried out.
The move could contribute directly to Denmark’s ambitious goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 70% by 2030, while boosting significantly efforts of reducing global CO2 emissions.
We see the Bornholm Bunker Hub initiative as very interesting in terms of our ongoing development of multi-fuel engines and testing future clean fuels for shipping. We are really looking forward to the experience that participating in such a forward-looking consortium will give us,
…added Cato Esperø, sales director, Wärtsilä in Norway.
Bornholm is also centrally located in relation to exploiting the great potential of green electricity from offshore wind in the entire Baltic region – not only in Danish waters, but also in Sweden, Poland and Germany. This means that Bornholm could become a unique energy centre that utilizes the regional energy resources to reduce CO2 emissions in society, including shipping.
As part of the project, investigations will also be carried out as to whether it is appropriate to produce green ammonia locally on Bornholm, or whether this should be imported in the first phase.
Denmark has a unique opportunity to create an industrial position of strength within the production of sustainable fuels for heavy transport and to create jobs in the process. Bornholm’s strategic location makes it also ideal as a hub for green energy solutions, and we look forward to exploring the potential for delivering sustainable fuels for shipping from Bornholm,
…explained Anders Nordstrøm, Vice President, Head of Hydrogen at Ørsted.
