Cepsa plans to export hydrogen produced at its San Roque Energy Park near the Bay of Algeciras, through hydrogen carriers such as ammonia or methanol, to the Port of Rotterdam (source: Port of Rotterdam)
Maritime will see an added supply of carbon-free hydrogen following announcements from the 2022 World Hydrogen Conference in Rotterdam
The Port of Rotterdam and Spanish oil company Cepsa have agreed to create a north-south European green hydrogen corridor to aid decarbonisation of maritime and heavy industry, and a half-dozen more companies have commited to a COP26 pledge to acelerate the use of carbon-free hydrogen.
Port of Rotterdam and Cespa signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will see the two companies work together to establish the first green hydrogen corridor between southern and northern Europe, ensuring a green hydrogen supply chain between two of Europe’s main ports, Rotterdam and Algeciras, in Spain.
Cepsa plans to export hydrogen produced at its San Roque Energy Park near the Bay of Algeciras, through hydrogen carriers such as ammonia or methanol, to the Port of Rotterdam, which handles 13% of total European energy demand.
With the Dutch Government’s support, and as part of Rotterdam’s Energy Transition plans, the Port Authority and many private companies active in the port area are developing the necessary infrastructure and facilities for the import of green hydrogen and its distribution into northwest Europe, connecting large industrial centers in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany by means of hydrogen pipelines.
“This supply of green fuels will help to decarbonise industry and maritime transport in the Bay of Algeciras and Rotterdam and to support the European Union’s RePower EU strategy, which seeks to guarantee Europe’s energy independence and security and stimulate the production of clean energy. The trade lane is expected to be operational by 2027. Cepsa also intends to develop a similar supply chain from its La Rabida Energy Park in Huelva,” the two companies said in a statement.
Also coming out of the World Hydrogen Congress were new pledges by companies to support the acceleration of green hydrogen’s use.
Announced at COP26, the green hydrogen pledge is aimed at helping growth of demand, supply and financial or technical support for green hydrogen, in a bid to accelerate the energy’s deployment and use.
The new companies include Arcadis, DNV, Octopus Hydrogen, Port of Rotterdam, Topsoe and the University of Birmingham, representing different sectors from industry and shipping to consulting, education, quality assurance and risk management.
“The companies announced they are committed to scaling up decarbonised hydrogen in their operations, raising the total number of companies who have already joined the H2Zero initiative up to 34,” a statement from the H2Zero initiative run by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Markets Initiative said.
