The Port of Rotterdam Authority has created a position paper with specific policy proposals to materialize hydrogen imports in response to the REPowerEU initiative of the European Commission.

By 2030, 20 million tons of green hydrogen ought to be in use. Imported hydrogen makes up half of that amount from nations outside the EU. The Port has developed the following recommendations for policy in order to carry out the REPowerEU strategy and benefit from Rotterdam’s position as a center for hydrogen.

The European Commission’s REPowerEU plan, which was unveiled on May 18, 2022, aims to ease Europe’s transition to using renewable energy sources and lessen reliance on energy imports from Russia.

A clear and energizing regulatory framework should be created at the EU level to draw in investors and provide legal security for both EU and non-EU economic actors, according to the recommendations. It also suggests that a strong hydrogen certification program be put in place and ready to go by the very latest by the end of 2023 for imports of hydrogen.

Another recommendation made by the Port of Rotterdam Authority is to safeguard the deployment of existing gas infrastructure along with the development of new, high-quality private hydrogen networks and private infrastructure for hydrogen carriers.

It also urges the development of a coordinated strategy toward energy exporting nations in order to balance supply and demand, as well as the granting of flexibility to first-mover projects to encourage the deployment of the urgently needed import infrastructure based on a technology-neutral approach.

The Authority also suggests bridging the financial gap between CO2-emitting options and carbon-neutral solutions.