Vopak links with Hydrogenious to ship hydrogen using existing fuel infrastructure

Dutch oil and chemical storage group Vopak has partnered with Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies to establish a joint venture company for hydrogen storage, transport and supply utilising conventional liquid-fuel infrastructure.

The German-based joint venture, named LOHC Logistix, will use Hydrogenious’ liquid organic hydrogen carrier (LOHC) technology which is based on thermal oil benzyl toluene that can be handled like a fossil liquid fuel in existing tankers at ambient pressure and temperature.

“Worldwide there exists a huge capacity of storage tanks, sea vessels, inland tankers and tank trucks for the storage and transportation of liquid fossil fuels. Hydrogenious wants to turn all this valuable infrastructure into the hydrogen infrastructure of the future using our LOHC technology,” said Dr Daniel Teichmann, founder and CEO at Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies.

Hydrogenious has sold pilot-scale LOHC systems to partners in several countries like Finland, Germany and the US over the last few years and has implemented the first full LOHC supply chain for hydrogen mobility this summer. Vopak became involved as a strategic investor in Hydrogenious in 2019 with a shareholding of around 10%. In addition to the equally owned jv, Vopak and Hydrogenious plan to expedite the construction of a LOHC storage facility at the Chempark Dormagen chemical park in Germany, along with a planned release plant in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The Rotterdam site is expected to have a release capacity of 1.5 tonnes of hydrogen daily.

According to Teichmann, the build-up of these plants will establish a green hydrogen supply chain that the partners see as a blueprint for a future, even more, comprehensive network across Europe, the Middle East and beyond.

Dick Richelle, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Vopak, said: “This investment is well in line with Vopak’s strategy to accelerate its portfolio investments towards new energies and sustainable feedstocks. We believe that different types of hydrogen logistics need to be developed to be able to facilitate the needed future flows of hydrogen and hydrogen carriers.”