Inland port duisport and the port of Rotterdam announce the next step in their partnership towards and leadership of the development of European hydrogen chains with a new feasibility study.
The study shows the combined role the two portshave to play in supporting the growing demand from the industry for hydrogen and its derivatives, and acting as a conduit between the governments, industry, and future players in the hydrogen market.
OCI Global, is partnering with the ports to demonstrate that the planned hydrogen corridor between Rotterdam and duisport is already in place and in a strong position to meet the high demand for low carbon and renewable hydrogen from the industrial cluster in the Ruhr region.
OCI Global and the Port of Rotterdam Authority already have a longstanding partnership, working together on a number of decarbonization initiatives. OCI Global operates the port of Rotterdam’s only ammonia import terminal, which it is in the process of expanding to triple its throughput capacity, in anticipation of growing demand for ammonia as cleaner fuel for hard-to-abate sectors.
OCI also operates a methanol import terminal and earlier this year, the company announced two new green methanol partnerships in the port of Rotterdam: with Unibarge to develop the world’s first dual-fueled bunker barge powered by OCI HyFuels green methanol, and with X-Press Feeder Lines to supply green methanol for their new-build methanol dual-fueled common feeder ships. Both projects will be deployed next year. Last month, OCI completed Europe’s first bunkering of green methanol onto the world’s first green methanol powered containership, owned by A.P. Moller – Maersk, in the port of Rotterdam.
The feasibility study highlights that in North Rhine-Westphalia, a significant increase in the demand for low carbon hydrogen of more than 3 million tonnes per year is expected until 2045. The demand for methanol is also expected to increase significantly, to more than 2.5 million tonnes per year. However, more clarity is needed on supply and demand, and duisport and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are mediating between the political and business worlds to match supply and demand and provide the necessary clarity to help speed up the decision-making on investments and subsidies.
To meet expected demand, it will be crucial to scale up relevant infrastructure and provide suitable areas. The study shows that the first hydrogen pipeline between the two ports should be completed by 2027 to meet the growing demand for green hydrogen in North Rhine-Westphalia in the medium term. Hydrogen derivatives pipelines and pipelines for the export of CO2 should follow.
Both ports are already taking action to develop the necessary infrastructure to support the hydrogen economy. One central building block for a resilient supply to the industry is the expansion of tank storage capacities for hydrogen derivatives in Duisburg.
The relationship between the largest inland port duisport and the largest seaport Rotterdam demonstrates the importance of cooperation in the energy transition for industry in Northwest Europe.
..said Rotterdam’s Vice Mayor Simons.
This study confirms the important role that both ports play as hubs, matchmakers and drivers of the energy transition. It shows which forward-focussing activities are needed in both ports to build the hydrogen economy of the future.
..said Boudewijn Siemons, interim CEO and COO of Port of Rotterdam Authority.
