In the region’s biggest seaport in Rotterdam, port authorities and major energy companies are developing a large-scale network that will include clean power supplied by offshore wind farms, as well as hydrogen production and pipelines to ship the fuel to manufacturers on-site and inland.
As part of its RePowerEU strategy to shift away from Russian fossil fuels and accelerate the green shift, the 27-nation EU pledged to produce 10 million tons of renewable hydrogen — made with renewable power breaking up water molecules — and import another 10 million tons by 2030. Ports are set to play a strategic role in the development of the market, both as hubs for imports, as well as investors in infrastructure to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen.
“RePowerEU requires a huge amount of hydrogen, it is mind-blowing,” said Nico Van Dooren, director of new business development and portfolio at the port of Rotterdam. “There is increasing demand for green hydrogen from various industries and it will continue to grow.”The hydrogen plants in Rotterdam will be connected to refineries at the port through a network of pipelines worth as much as €1.5 billion, according to the port’s estimates.
It’s not just the ports that are making the green transition — the ships themselves are also beginning the shift to cleaner fuels. A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s No. 2 container carrier, in June ordered six methanol-powered ships for delivery starting in 2026, bringing its total orderbook of vessels burning that kind of fuel to 25.