Uniper works with Rotterdam port to develop green hydrogen production
The Port of Rotterdam and energy company Uniper have joined forces to develop the production of green hydrogen at the Uniper location on Maasvlakte with the use of power generated by North Sea wind farms.
The Uniper hydrogen plant is to be connected to the HyTransport.RTM pipeline that runs through the Port of Rotterdam and also connects the plant to the national hydrogen infrastructure and the Delta Corridor pipeline bundle. The latter project is intended to deliver hydrogen to chemical clusters in Moerdijk and Geleen and farther away in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The next key step in the Uniper project is the front-end engineering and design study. This nine-month study is currently being contracted out and should yield in-depth findings for the conceptual design of the electrolysis installation (100MW initially and with a future capacity increase to 500MW), the project planning, and a budget.
The port and Uniper will soon make the first efforts to apply for the permits needed, to seek financial support from various authorities, to enter into agreements with the relevant partners involved in the value chain, and to prepare for an investment decision in 2022.
“We have the strong ambition to convert our Maasvlakte location into a major link in the new European hydrogen value chain in close collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam Authority and other partners,” said Axel Wietfeld, CEO of Uniper Hydrogen.
Today, about 13% of the European energy supply enters the EU via Rotterdam, and the port has the ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050 while retaining its central role in the European energy system.
Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, stated: “We are working with partners towards the introduction of a large-scale hydrogen network across the port complex, making Rotterdam an international hub for hydrogen production and import and for the transit of hydrogen to other countries in Northwestern Europe.”
