Nearly half of all European hydrogen demand will be used in port areas by 2050: EU-backed report
Port owners urged to make land available for H2 infrastructure, co-ordinate projects and even directly invest
Port areas will play host to nearly half of all consumption of hydrogen in Europe by 2050, driven by efforts to decarbonise heavy industry and shipping, according to new analysis from a public-private research and innovation partnership backed by the EU.
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By 2050, this will be matched by demand from the transport sector, as a result of an uptick in demand from the shipping industry, which is expected to use hydrogen-derived e-fuels such as green ammonia and methanol, and heavy-duty trucking.
By contrast, demand for low temperature heat (ie, space heating) in non-port areas is “uncertain” although it could pick up in the 2040s, the CHP said.
In total, imports will account for between 25-70% of all hydrogen demand in Europe, the report said, going on to urge ports companies to consider taking up one or more of three possible facilitating roles identified by the CHP.
Ports could choose to be a landlord and make land available for hydrogen-related infrastructure such as renewable energy installations, import terminals or pipelines, or they could take it a step further and become a community-builder: a point of contact that co-ordinates a variety of related hydrogen-based activity, such as the Port of Antwerp-Bruges’ plan to become an “incubator” for potential demonstrators.
The third option is for ports to directly invest in hydrogen infrastructure themselves, the CHP said, citing the Port of Rotterdam’s investment in pipelines from its site to a nearby refinery.
The CHP is a joint research undertaking between the European Commission and hydrogen trade body Hydrogen Europe, backed by €1bn ($1.09bn) in EU funding over six years and matched with double that from the private sector.
The report is the first of three expected from the partnership in the coming months, with a study on the most effective policy tools to support hydrogen uptake in ports expected in the next few weeks and a “techno-economic feasibility” report on hydrogen-related activities in ports scheduled for the end of the year.
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