H2Gate consortium on Europe’s import chain for green hydrogen

H2Gate consortium has presented the blueprint for the import of one million tonnes of green hydrogen via the port of Amsterdam.

The H2Gate consortium consists of Port of Amsterdam, Evos, Hydrogenious from Germany, Hysilabs from France, and Electriq Global from Israel. It wants to establish a 100 per cent green value chain for the transport, storage, and distribution in the Amsterdam port. It is also including major industrial hubs in the Netherlands and Germany.

The consortium is unique because of the synergistic bundling of multiple carrier technologies; the kinds that enable the safe transport of green hydrogen to areas such as Amsterdam and the Ruhrgebied region. As such, it represents an attractive alternative to the safety concerns of ammonia-based carriers and liquid hydrogen.

Since the start last year, the consortium has made progress in assessing the requirements for large-scale import and sourcing opportunities.

In the next period, it will build this new supply chain step by step, together with hydrogen producers and off-takers.

Last Friday, Ramon Ernst from Evos and Eduard de Visser from Port of Amsterdam, on behalf of the H2Gate, handed over the blueprint for the import of one million tonnes of green hydrogen via the port of Amsterdam to Dutch environmentalist  Diederik Samsom.

Green hydrogen is a potential game-changer for decarbonisation of heavy transport. The demand for green H2 in the Netherlands and Europe will increase strongly in the coming decades.

However, the generation of clean power required for large-scale hydrogen production in Northwestern Europe takes up too much space and energy to meet the expected demand. This will create a significant deficit. That is why the sustainable import of green hydrogen is important.

Also, shipping and handling liquid H2 is a challenge in terms of cost and safety. Hydrogen carriers offer a cost-effective and flexible solution for transporting green hydrogen over long distances. This means that hydrogen is bound to a liquid or solid compound, transported to the destination, and then released from the carrier.