During the H2 Connecting Event in Duisburg, the Port of Amsterdam signed three agreements with a wide range of partners that strengthened the port’s position as a leading supplier of renewable hydrogen and its derivatives to the German market.
According to a statement, the goal of the H2 Connecting Event, which will be presided over by King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, is to bolster the partnership between the Netherlands and Germany in the field of renewable hydrogen, as well as to lay the groundwork for intra-European corridors, with Spanish producers potentially supplying German off-takers via the Netherlands.
These are the aims of the three agreements signed by the Port of Amsterdam and seek to leverage the existing relationships the Dutch port has with prospective producers.
The first agreement expands on the earlier-established connection between the Port of Amsterdam and the Basque Country.
This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been renewed with duisport, in collaboration with the Port of Bilbao, Petronor, EVE, Zenith Energy Terminals, and Evos Amsterdam, to investigate the creation of an intra-European corridor for renewable hydrogen. The MoU is in line with the European Union’s aim to build such intra-European corridors.
The participation of duisport allows Basque hydrogen to be supplied to major industrial offtakers in the Rhine-Ruhr area, with Amsterdam serving as a gateway for renewable hydrogen and synthetic fuels to the German market.
The Bilbao region provides a solid foundation for this relationship, as Petronor is constructing multiple projects for the production of renewable hydrogen.
“Port of Bilbao is one of the four ports ranked as first level by Spanish Ports National Institution, leading the environmental policies in Spain. Port of Bilbao is also a hub for short sea shipping, facilitating around 30% of trade between Spain and Europe. It is our aim to become carbon neutral by 2050 and therefore green corridors between Bilbao, the Netherlands and Germany are of importance to help decarbonise, not only the Basque Country Industry, but also other industrial regions within Europe,” stated Andima Ormaetxe Bengoa, director operations, commercial and logistics of Port of Bilbao.
The second agreement relies on the concept that the connection between the ports of Amsterdam and Duisburg is an important aspect of this Spanish-Netherlands-German renewable hydrogen corridor.
Port of Amsterdam and duisport signed a Joint Study Agreement as part of their existing strategic cooperation, with the specific goal of assessing technical and financial requirements, transportation modalities, and infrastructure for the realization of a resilient supply chain between the two ports.
The third agreement, signed with EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, a leading German energy company and provider of renewable energies and infrastructure, Zenith Energy Terminals, and GasLog, aims to establish a green, liquid hydrogen connection to EnBW facilities in Germany via the port of Amsterdam.
“EnBW pursues several pathways for the transport of hydrogen. Thus we want to ensure security of renewable energy supply and further use limitation of fossil-based energy sources, thereby actively contributing to the decarbonisation of our economy,” stated Peter Heydecker, executive director of Trading.
All three agreements were inked in the presence of the king of Netherlands Willem-Alexander, director-general for Economic Stabilization and Energy Security at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Philipp Steinberg, State Secretary for the Extractive Industries at the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change, Hans Vijlbrief, prime minister of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst and deputy premier and minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Action and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Mona Neubaur as official witnesses.
