Location of the conversion park at the Maasvlakte 2
HyTransPortRTM, the hydrogen pipeline in the Port of Rotterdam that will run between the Maasvlakte and Pernis, has found its first customer in Shell, which has signed an agreement to use it.
Gasunie is laying the pipeline in collaboration with the port authority, aiming to make the industry in the port more sustainable by using hydrogen as a fossil-fuel replacement for fuels and raw materials where CO2 is released during production or use.
Holland Hydrogen I, the electrolyser that Shell is going to build at the Conversion Park on the Maasvlakte, will be connected to the pipeline, transporting hydrogen to Pernis via the HyTransPortRTM.
The hydrogen pipeline will be in use at the end of 2024, early 2025 while in time, it will be connected to the national and international hydrogen network.
Jeroen Steens, director commercial delivery at the Port of Rotterdam Authority, said: “The contract with Shell is an important step. Shell has great ambitions in the field of hydrogen.
“Infrastructure such as HyTransPort is crucial for the hydrogen economy in the port of Rotterdam to get off the ground. This is a clear sign that steps are being taken to make the port of Rotterdam more sustainable.”
In the first half of 2022, Shell will take the final investment decision for the Holland Hydrogen I electrolyser on the Second Maasvlakte. The final investment decision for the HyTransPortRTM hydrogen pipeline will then also be taken around that time.
HyTransPortRTM will be laid over a route of 32 km, with the pipe having a diameter of 24 inches (61 cm).
Space has been planned for a conversion park on the Maasvlakte, where hydrogen can be produced for the port of Rotterdam.
It is hoped that hydrogen will be used as an energy carrier for industrial processes where electrification cannot meet the requirements, such as high temperature processes in the petrochemical industry, and as a raw material for chemical products.
Helmie Botter, business development manager for hydrogen at Gasunie, said: “As part of the future energy mix, sustainable hydrogen will make an important contribution to reducing CO2 emissions in industry.”
