Amsterdam and Den Helder ports firm up cooperation to accelerate energy transition

Port of Amsterdam and Port of Den Helder have decided to strengthen their cooperation on energy transition, offshore wind, and hydrogen through a new memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The Dutch ports signed the MoU on October 23, 2024, to intensify their collaboration in the areas of commerce, operations, technology, and project development, aiming to propel the energy transition further.

Both ports are said to have a good starting position for offshore wind and renewable energy generation in the North Sea as well as conditions to develop sustainable energy landing, storage, and transition hubs, with particular focus on the development of a hydrogen hub.

Kees Turnhout, General Manager of Port of Den Helder, said: “With this membership, we emphasise the great importance of offshore wind activities for our port and our customers. The energy transition is an important pillar in the port development of the North Sea Canal area and the Maritime Cluster Den Helder. Both ports want to accelerate the energy transition by realising cooperation. This can involve setting up joint projects, in which the strengths of both areas are bundled, while retaining the uniqueness and local anchoring of both ports.”

Koen Overtoom, CEO of Port of Amsterdam, added: “The role of port authorities as facilitators for the energy transition means that we have to look beyond our local interests and explore new partnerships. We want to accelerate the transition. More intensive cooperation between our ports could be a means to increase our added value.”

Meanwhile, the Amsterdam port is working with international partners on establishing hydrogen connections.

In April this year, the port reached an agreement with Petronor, EnBW, and GasLog to evaluate the technical feasibility and commercial viability of a liquid hydrogen corridor between the ports of Bilbao and Amsterdam.

In addition, the Port of Amsterdam inked an MoU with Petronor/Repsol and KLM to explore the possibilities for the production of synthetic aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogen-based synthetic aviation fuel (e-SAF) in Bilbao.

At the end of 2023, the Dutch port, together with SkyNRG and Zenith Energy Terminals, signed a joint study agreement (JSA) with Abu Dhabi-based clean energy company Masdar to assess the feasibility of a dedicated liquefied green hydrogen supply chain for Masdar-produced hydrogen to Amsterdam.