The Port of Valencia has begun the installation of the hydrogen generator with the assembly on the north quay, in the Bracet de la Xità area, of the tank and compressor of the station that will supply hydrogen to the machinery that forms part of the H2Ports project.
A further step in this pioneering initiative which will be completed in the next few days with the arrival of the mobile unit with the dispenser to position the Port of Valencia as the first European site to use hydrogen technologies to reduce its environmental impact.
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The hydrogen station will supply the fuel necessary to guarantee the continuous working cycles of the equipment forming part of the H2Ports project. One of the pieces of equipment, currently in the construction phase, will be the machinery or prototype of the Reach Stacker vehicle or container stacker which will be powered by this energy and which will be tested at MSC Terminal Valencia.
The other piece of equipment will be an adaptation of a conventional 4×4 tractor unit, which will have a fuel cell adapted for testing in loading and unloading operations at Valencia Terminal Europa of the Grimaldi Group.
The hydrogen supply station (HRS) has been designed and built by the National Hydrogen Centre, and will include a fixed part that will be dedicated to the reception, storage and compression of hydrogen up to delivery pressure, and a mobile part that will store the compressed hydrogen and will include a hydrogen dispenser for refuelling the port machinery.
The HRS will have a two-stage water-cooled piston hydrogen compressor with heat exchangers integrated into the system, two groups of hydrogen storage cylinders at 300 and 450 bar and a dispenser at 350 bar for heavy vehicles.
The president of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV), Aurelio Martinez, stressed that:
This is one more step in the different actions that Valenciaport is carrying out to be an area that combines sustainability and growth. For the PAV, the fight against climate change and decarbonisation is a priority, as demonstrated by all the projects we are carrying out to meet the objective of being an emission-neutral port by 2030
The European project which will enable Valencia and its port to work and move port machinery with hydrogen is called “H2PORTS – Implementing Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technologies in Ports”.
Its main objective is to test and validate hydrogen technologies on port machinery that will provide applicable and real solutions without affecting the performance and safety of port operations and producing zero local emissions.
The H2Ports project will involve a total investment of more than 4 million euros and involves, in addition to the Valenciaport Foundation and the Port Authority of Valencia, the research centres Centro Nacional del Hidrógeno and Atena Distretto Alta Tecnologia Energia Ambiente and the private companies MSC Terminal Valencia, Grimaldi Group, Hyster-Yale, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Carburos Metálicos and Enagás.
