Port of Rotterdam to house the largest ‘Green’ Hydrogen Plant in Europe

Thanks to the new and modern technology, hydrogen which can now be produced without the emission of carbon dioxide is used as a sustainable fuel for industries. Rotterdam is committed to the largest ‘green’ hydrogen plant in Europe.

Hydrogen is a miraculous thing to be used as it can be used like a fuel to drive cars or to heat houses. However, with no emmisions. The only residue is water. The drawback here is that, hydrogen is mainly produced by conversion of natural gas at high temperatures. This makes hydrogen an energy source that is partly fossil.

Hydrogen can also be produced by means like electrolysis of water. If wind or solar energy is used for electrolysis then hydrogen is carbon dioxide neutral. The Port of Rotterdam Authority along with the companies Nouryon and BP are looking at ways to set up the largest green hydrogen plant of Europe.

Head of Government Affairs of BP Nederland, Corné Boot said, “The plant we have in mind in this partnership must produce 45,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually. That makes this plant the largest in Europe. In this way, we save 350,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The challenge is that we need a lot of green electricity, namely 250 Megawatt. If you consider that a wind turbine at sea supplies an average of 2 to 3 Megawatts of electricity per year, then this is not 1-2-3 regulated’. The partners have allocated three years to make the ‘infrastructure’ for the plant possible.

Nico van Dooren, Energy and Process Industry Manager at the Port of Rotterdam Authority: ‘We think it is important to sit down at the table from the very beginning of this development. Research has shown that we need forty factories of this scale to replace natural gas with a sustainable fuel. It’s a challenging project, but we’re happy to give it room.

In 2022, the decision will be made as to whether the green hydrogen plant will actually be built. In the meantime, the planning process will continue in many areas. It has to be. Corné: ‘We want a future with low CO2 emissions. So process efficiency, electrification, CO2 capture and storage, reuse of residual heat and green hydrogen. What I like is that the port of Rotterdam wants to lead the way in many of these areas. Of course, we support that!”

Hydrogen is used for for the desulphurisation of oil, thus making it an indispensable part in the production of oil products. The Port of Rotterdam has five oil refineries. Not all the hydrogen is used by these refineries, part of it is pumped to Northern France.

PR Reference: Port of Rotterdam