HPC to look into Helgoland’s potential to become hydrogen bunkering hub

The municipality of Helgoland has commissioned HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, a German-based consulting firm, to carry out a concept study for the construction of a hydrogen bunker station on the deep-sea island.  

The study will require HPC to investigate the commercial and infrastructural suitability of the island as a potential location for H2 fuel supply for shipping traffic on the North Sea.

Heligoland is a small archipelago in the North Sea, and it is part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

The study is being pursued as the shipping industry looks at alternative fuels to decarbonize its operations, the most interesting options being methanol, ammonia, and hydrogen.

The success of the adoption of a future solution will largely depend on the available bunkering infrastructure.

The island of Helgoland is frequented in particular by crew transfer vessels (CTVs), passenger and research ships and recreational craft. At the same time, green hydrogen from the AquaPrimus project will be available on Helgoland in the future.

“Taking into account the good availability of green hydrogen in the area of the island, we would like to examine the extent to which Helgoland can also reliably provide a supply for ships calling there in the future,” says Christoph Tewis, project manager for AquaCore and the TransHyDE project Helgoland.

The concept study carried out by HPC includes an evaluation of the market potential of alternative fuels for island shipping with the aim of estimating the potential demand. Taking the local framework conditions into consideration, various refuelling concepts for hydrogen will be examined.

Another focus will be to investigate the conditions and prerequisites for the possible location of a hydrogen bunkering station with reference to suitable plans to ensure the logistics of supplying the fuel. The study will include initial estimates of the necessary investments.

“The results of the study will better enable the municipality of Helgoland and its partners to make an investment decision based on realistic costs,” says Patrick Specht, Head of Sustainability at HPC.

The concept study for a hydrogen bunker station on Helgoland is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the hydrogen lead project TransHyDe. The project is in line with Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy adopted in 2020.

Germany has set a goal to become a leading player in the hydrogen economy by 2030. The country’s hydrogen strategy aims to promote the use of hydrogen as a clean energy source and to increase its competitiveness in the global market. The strategy includes plans to invest in research and development of hydrogen technologies, build a hydrogen infrastructure, and support the production and use of hydrogen in various sectors such as transportation, industry, and heating.