Tata Steel and ECOLOG join forces for Norway-Netherlands liquid hydrogen corridor

Dutch steel producer Tata Steel and Greek mid-stream carbon capture, utilization and sequestration (CCUS) service provider ECOLOG have signed an agreement with Norwegian green hydrogen project developer Gen2 Energy and the Port of Amsterdam to assess feasibility of creating a liquid hydrogen import corridor.

Under the agreement, the partners will explore economic viability of importing liquid hydrogen from Norway to the Netherlands via Amsterdam port.

As explained, the hydrogen produced from hydropower in Norway would be cooled and liquefied to be shipped in specialized vessels owned by ECOLOG. The liquid hydrogen would be transported to ECOLOG’s terminal at the Port of Amsterdam and converted back into a gaseous state to be delivered to Tata Steel and other companies via the planned pipeline network. 

Besides liquid hydrogen import corridor, the partners also plan to create liquid CO2 export corridor as part of a wider study into the economic viability of a trade corridor between Norway and the Netherlands via the Port of Amsterdam.

To this end, Tata Steel and ECOLOG signed a second agreement with Horisont Energi, the Port of Amsterdam, OCAP, the Norwegian bank DNB, and ABN AMRO.

The project includes capturing CO2 from Tata Steel and other companies in the region and exporting it from Amsterdam to Norway. The cold energy released during the conversion of liquid hydrogen to gas at ECOLOG’s terminal would be used to liquefy the CO2 at the same location.

In this form, the CO2 could be transported by ship to Horisont Energi’s import terminal in Norway, where it would be permanently stored.

These two agreements, which are expected to strengthen collaboration between the Norwegian and Dutch governments in the energy sector, were sealed on the sidelines of HM King Willem-Alexander’s visit to Denmark and Norway focused on hydrogen, CO2 storage, and infrastructure.