The Port of Rotterdam is looking into the possibility of importing green hydrogen generated in South Australia. The port authority and the government of the Australian state have reached an agreement in principle on this.
South Australia wants to be a major exporter of clean energy by 2025. The state hopes to be able to generate five times as much electricity each year as it needs. Already, 60 per cent of the electricity in the state comes from clean sources and by 2030 that number should be 100 per cent.
The Port of Rotterdam wants to play an important role in the transition to clean energy in Europe. At the moment, a lot of coal and oil is still coming through the port, but hydrogen must replace these fossil fuels in the years to come.
Also read: Port of Rotterdam investigates hydrogen plant at Maasvlakte
Very competitive
Despite the fact that it seems expensive to bring hydrogen all the way from Australia, port authority CEO Allard Castelein thinks it could be interesting. ‘We know that the cost of shipping is only a small part of the total cost of hydrogen.’ If the hydrogen can be generated in Australia thanks to energy from sun and wind, which are plentiful, it could still make the price of the energy carrier ‘very competitive’ in Europe.
South Australia is the first non-national government that the Port of Rotterdam is working with. Feasibility studies are also underway with Iceland, Portugal, Morocco, Uruguay and Middle Eastern countries, among others.
Also read: Port of Rotterdam sees 2020 throughput fall by 6.9%
Source: ANP
Picture by Frans Berkelaar.
