Read more about energy transition in the Rotterdam region.
Import of hydrogen
The Port of Rotterdam is already investigating the import of hydrogen from a large number of countries and regions all over the world. Green hydrogen is a sustainable alternative to coal, oil and natural gas. Vast imports of hydrogen are necessary if Europe and Germany want to reduce CO2 emissions and become climate-neutral by 2050, while maintaining its strong industrial backbone. Rotterdam is also setting up a carbon transport and storage system, Porthos, which is also being considered as a CO2 storage site for the production of blue hydrogen by the “H2morrow steel” project, which includes thyssenkrupp Steel as partner as well.
The three partners agree that new, cross-border infrastructure is required to support the energy transition, especially additional pipeline structure is needed. A concrete and signif-icant demand for hydrogen from the steel industry as an alternative to coal as well as the options to store CO2 can work as a stimulus for the realization of this infrastructure. The cooperation between Rotterdam as Europe’s largest port and Duisburg as Europe’s largest steel site can have a signaling effect to establish supply chains for the energy transition, building an important sustainable European industry and logistics cluster.
Port area
12,500 hectares (land & water, including approximately 6,000 hectares of indus-trial sites). The port area is more than 40 kilometres long. Employment: (direct and indirect) 385,000 jobs in the Netherlands. Goods throughput: approximately 440 million tonnes of goods a year. Shipping: approximately 30,000 seagoing vessels and 100,000 inland vessels annually. Added value: (direct and indirect) €45.6 billion, 6.2% of Dutch GDP.